Americans Were Advised To Stay At Home For The Holiday, But 1 Million+ Traveled By Plane Anyway
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - Despite the COVID-19 warnings, the Thanksgiving holiday was once again a very busy travel time in the U.S. Now thousands of Texans are returning to homes and schools as the state and the nation braces for an expected sure in positive cases.
Nearly 1.2 million people passed through U.S. airports Sunday, the greatest number since the coronavirus pandemic gripped the country in March.
The Transportation Security Administration screened at least 1 million people on four of the last 10 days through Sunday. That's still half the crowd recorded last year at airports, when more than 2 million people were counted per day.
With new reported cases of coronavirus spiking across the country, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had issued a warning against Thanksgiving travel just a week before the holiday.
Some airlines had reported a pullback in bookings as virus cases grew. On Monday, JetBlue Airways said "booking trends remain volatile," and a recovery in travel demand will be uneven into next year.
The majority of holiday travel was taken on American roadways. According to AAA, driving accounted for some 95% of all holiday travel.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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