Thanksgiving holiday travel in Maine a breeze so far

No disruptions were reported Wednesday as thousands of Mainers took various modes of transportation to reach their Thanksgiving holiday destinations.

Most of the state’s transportation hubs reported a steady flow of travelers that started Monday, but nothing so significant as to cause major delays on the day before the holiday.

“It has been a pretty smooth operation so far,” Zachary Sundquist, spokesman for the Portland International Jetport, said on Wednesday. “There have been no cancellations and just a couple of minor delays due to the weather to start the day.”

Sundquist said flights have landed and departed on schedule this week as more and more air travelers seem to be booking holiday flights on Monday and Tuesday. He said being able to work remotely from just about anywhere, which started during the COVID-19 pandemic, has made it easier for flights not to get jammed up on the day before Thanksgiving.

That pattern is expected to change on Saturday and Sunday when an estimated 6,000 airline seats will be booked each day as travelers head home to other states or return to Maine from family gatherings.

“We expect most of those (weekend) flights to be full,” Sundquist said.

The Amtrak Downeaster also reported no disruptions Wednesday. Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, said there has been an uptick this in the number of train passengers.

Quinn said several trains that travel between Brunswick and Boston sold out Wednesday with about 2,000 passengers traveling by rail. Amtrak Downeaster plans to operate four trains on Thanksgiving as people travel to and from their holiday destinations in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

“It’s a great way for people to relax and not have to stress about the traffic,” she said of those who choose to ride the train on Thanksgiving.

Quinn said the Brunswick, Maine and Durham, New Hampshire, train stations have been “super busy” this week as college students, who live in those towns board trains to reach Thanksgiving gatherings.

Traffic on the Maine Turnpike was steady Wednesday, but the volume was not significant enough to cause tie-ups or major delays, said Erin Courtney, spokesperson for the Maine Turnpike Authority. Thanksgiving eve has never traditionally been a busy traffic day, she said, but that is expected to change this coming weekend as more people take to the road to return home.

In 2022, the MTA recorded 1,010,000 transactions for the six-day period starting Wednesday and ending on the Monday after Thanksgiving. The MTA estimates it will handle 1,035,000 transactions over the same period this year.

AAA Northern New England is projecting that 2.5 million New England residents will travel over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period setting a new record for the holiday and a 2.6% increase from last year. Nationally, AAA projects 55.4 million travelers across the country will head 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period – the third-highest Thanksgiving forecast since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000.

“For many Americans, Thanksgiving and travel go hand in hand, and this holiday, we expect more people on the roads, skies, and seas compared to 2022,” Dan Goodman, manager of public affairs for AAA Northern New England, said in a statement.

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