What to know if you are traveling the week of Thanksgiving
(CBS DETROIT) - It's expected to be one of the busiest travel seasons ever, and in Metro Detroit, it is no different for travel agent Andrew Delmenhorst, who owns Pygmy Elephant, an adventure travel agency in Royal Oak.
"We actually stopped taking reservations for our trips about a month ago. We have already stopped taking reservations for the Thanksgiving period about two months before that," Delmenhorst says.
From Nov. 17 to Nov. 28, TSA officials say they expect to screen more than 30 million passengers, or approximately 2.7 million passengers per day, up 10% from the same time last year.
However, many fear a repeat of last year's holiday season that left thousands of travelers stranded at airports amid cancellations at top airlines.
"Here in Detroit, Delta has the largest presence. If something is canceled, they do have more routes and more opportunities to get you out on a different flight," Delmenhorst says.
A stressful situation that travel agent Jessica Sills, who owns Beach Dreamers Travel in Shelby Township, says she was able to get her client out of thanks to having travel protection.
"It's especially important over the holidays, families with children, really everyone should have it. That travel protection is going to be there for you for trip delay, trip interruption, it's also going to give you if you did have to cancel or if you had a medical emergency destination, it's going to give you that medical coverage," Sills says.
As far as what to expect this year, Detroit travel agent Kyeshia Jackson, the owner of Juskay Travel, believes airlines will be ready to withstand a record high amount of airline travelers without cancellation but as Jackson says, you just never know.
"It's going to be chaotic, it's going to be a lot of people. I just recommend anytime you are traveling around the holidays, or if you have a really early flight to always just purchase the travel protection because that will give you the peace of mind," Jackson says.
The Wayne County Airport Authority says they don't expect any disruptions ahead of the week of Thanksgiving.
However, in case there are delays or cancellations, experts advise you to download airline apps for the latest updates on flight information, as well as look into car rental options before traveling next week.
