BUFFALO, N.Y. — The day before Thanksgiving is typically one of the busiest times for travel, but this year things were a little different due largely to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Travel officials locally told 2 On Your Side the morning of Thanksgiving Eve appeared to be busy at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, but the crowd quieted down throughout the day.
"It's a tremendously different experience. It's one that really is not a lot of people. The biggest difference will be the lack of people," said Helen Tederous, the NFTA Director of Public Affairs.
Added Elizabeth Carey, the Director of Public Relations with AAA: "Traditionally people travel on the day before Thanksgiving and they go home on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. And all of this is planned well in advance and people have their flights and they're booked solid. This year was a lot different."
Tederous said compared to what we've become accustomed to during the pandemic, there was a slight uptick. However, looking at air travel compared to a typical Thanksgiving Eve, volume was down significantly.
"When I say significantly, I mean up to 87 percent down," Tederous said.
There were also fewer flights coming and going than in a typical year.
When it comes to travel as a whole, AAA originally predicted at least a 10 percent drop, the largest one-year decrease since the Great Recession in 2008.
However, due to rising COVID numbers since that prediction, Carey said the drop will be even greater than that.
She added, "All modes of transportation are down this year. However, most people are traveling by car rather than flying or other modes of transportation."
Officials said there are many reasons for the decline in travel. A major factor, of course, the CDC and several health experts advising against it for Thanksgiving.
