ROMULUS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Thanksgiving travelers at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport are navigating one of the busiest travel periods of the year, with nearly 82 million Americans expected to travel at least 50 miles from home through Monday.
The AAA projection represents almost 2 million more travelers than last year, setting a new overall record for Thanksgiving week travel.
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Despite the record-breaking numbers, DTW appeared manageable Tuesday afternoon as travelers headed to destinations across the country.
"I'm headed to Florence, Kentucky," said Laura Tobin, who was traveling to visit her son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.
Joan Candea was bound for Hilton Head, South Carolina, to start a new family tradition with her niece and husband, who own a home there.
"Yes, it's very exciting," Candea said.
Nadine Lovell was making her way to New Orleans, while Jacob Jeudy headed to Indianapolis.
"I mean it's inevitable," Jeudy said about potential travel delays. "Hopefully the flight I'm getting on soon isn't gonna be delayed."
The busy travel period brings familiar challenges, including long lines, potential delays and questionable weather conditions.
"Lines, a lot of people waiting in lines and it's not happening, always a positive," Candea said.
Matt Morawski, director of communications for Wayne County Airport Authority, said holiday travel is expected to be busy as usual. He noted that the FAA's temporary flight reductions did cause some uncertainty for travelers.
"I figured we had a chance of not even going cause it would be cancelled," Candea said.
However, Morawski added the impact hasn't been significant at this time. By 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, there were about 80 total delays at DTW and zero cancellations.
"So far, we'll see," Tobin said about her travel experience.
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