1 day Ago By Eric Young [email protected]
Industry experts are projecting a record-breaking year for travel this Thanksgiving holiday week across the country, and Colorado looks to be no different. Although the Colorado Springs Airport doesn't predict airline numbers ahead of time, last year saw its November enplanement totals increase 20% over the previous year to a record-breaking 106,483 passengers . Prior to that, 2022 set a 22-year high in November for the airport.
The airport’s marketing and communication manager, Aidan Ryan, told The Gazette that Tuesday is historically its busiest travel day ahead of Thanksgiving while the Sunday after is the busiest overall with everyone typically coming home then. According to Ryan, last year’s Sunday following Thanksgiving was one of the airport’s busiest days through checkpoints for the entire year. Denver International Airport is forecasting more than 844,000 passengers to travel through its checkpoints Friday through Dec.
2, a 7.5% increase from last year. Travel organization AAA projects that nearly 80 million travelers will travel 50 miles or more from home over Thanksgiving week.
That surpasses last year's record by 1.7 million people and marks a 2 million person increase over 2019. About 71.
7 million people are projected to travel on the road while 5.8 million plan to travel by air and 2.3 million by other modes like boat, train or bus.
For those hitting the road, gas prices are trending lower than they were this time last year. In Colorado, drivers are paying an average price of $2.93 per gallon with the highest prices in Vail at $3.
58 and the lowest in Greeley at $2.71 as of Friday . Colorado Springs’ prices averaged $2.
77, according to AAA. By comparison, the national average for gas this season is $3.06.
Last year’s prices averaged $3.16 statewide and $2.94 in Colorado Springs.
Updated gas prices can be found here. According to INRIX , a provider of transportation data and insights, the worst times to travel by car over Thanksgiving week are Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon while the single-best time to hit the road is Thanksgiving Day itself, when roadways are typically clear. In Colorado, drivers can expect the worst congestion on southbound Interstate 25 from Fort Collins to Denver on the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving, when travel times will be up 44% over the typical day.
"When you're stuck in traffic, remember you can't be mad at traffic: You are traffic," McKinley said. "Take a beat, take a deep breath, and take in the beautiful Colorado scenery. You're going to get to where you need to be, though you should build in extra time if you have appointments to keep.
" The Colorado Springs Airport advises those choosing to take to the skies to arrive at least two hours ahead of their scheduled flight for enough time to park and get through their checkpoint before arriving at their gate. Travelers can expect signage directing them to open or overflow parking lots based on availability. Real-time flight information can be found on the airport's website ( flycos.
com ), but travelers are also encouraged to download the app for the airline they purchased their tickets through for up-to-date information on their flights that may be impacted by weather and other factors. The municipal airport relaunched its popular 50% off long-term parking for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel periods. Travelers will be able to take advantage of the discounts from Monday through Dec.
1 and Dec. 20 through Jan. 2.
Cool and unsettled weather appears to be on the horizon across south central and southeast Colorado leading up to Thanksgiving Day. Next week, the National Weather Service forecasts the chances of rain and snow showers in Colorado Springs picking up Tuesday and Wednesday while temperatures look to gradually dropping by Thanksgiving Day with a high of 37 degrees. Average high temperatures in the Pikes Peak region on Thanksgiving are in the mid- to upper-30s, according to the Weather Service.
The record high temperature was set in 2017 at 54 degrees while the lowest was recorded in 1919 at minus-3 degrees. Gazette reporter Breeanna Jent contributed to this report..
