When you think of the holidays, it usually means food, family, and standing in airport security line for hours.
Millions of Americans fly somewhere for the holidays, especially on Thanksgiving.
Last year, Google Flights saw a spike in searches for Thanksgiving travel starting in mid-October.
Whether you’re flying to visit family or taking a last-minute vacation, Google Flights has a few tips to help make holiday travel planning a little easier this year.
The first step, if you can manage it, is to avoid the busiest travel days.
These are the days that are most likely to have long lines at the airport, flight delays or cancelations.
Thanksgiving is on November 23, and Google predicts, based on previous years, that Friday, November 17, Wednesday, November 22 and Sunday, November 26 will be the busiest days to fly.
No matter when you fly, you’ll also want to prepare for busier airports.
Airports in San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Honolulu, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, and Miami tend to be the busiest.
If you can, try for alternate airports...if you can’t, arrive early and pack some extra patience.