Thanksgiving Travel Off To Good Start After Storm
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The day before Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Locally, thousands of people are headed into and out of town.
Travelers were worried that today could have been a nightmare, but Pittsburgh largely avoided a winter storm and no one is complaining about it.
It was especially good news for those at the Pittsburgh International Airport.
"We are going to Disney World," Lauren Hopkins said.
Hopkins and her family didn't let the weather change their plans.
They are just a few of the roughly three million passengers taking to the skies this holiday.
"We were afraid we were going to get bombarded with snow and nobody was leaving here," Hopkins said.
The threat of bad weather may actually work to their advantage by creating shorter lines at both ticketing and the security checkpoint.
"I'm actually surprised. There's pretty much nobody, so it's pretty awesome," Luke Hopkins said.
Most flights are leaving on time as of noon. Only those headed east to places like New York, Philadelphia and Washington. D.C. were seeing problems.
"We also ask people to pack a little patience today because if there are delays, it's really not due to the system as much as it is due to the weather and the aircraft have to fly in safe conditions. So, it's a matter of safety," JoAnn Jenny with the Pittsburgh International Airport said.
About 40 million travelers plan to hit the highway this holiday weekend.
Joe Castanon left Buffalo this morning and plans to celebrate with family in West Virginia.
"The roads aren't as bad as I thought they'd be. They got them pretty clear," Castanon said.
Mike Glover cleaned snow off of his car at a rest stop along the interstate.
He and his family are not letting the threat of bad weather interfere with their plans.
"If it was really bad we'd pull over, but I think we'll be fine," he said.
Motorists are still being advised to take it easy on the roads as there could still be slick spots, even if the snow may have avoided your area.
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