The festive season is back with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Americans in millions are geared up to enjoy the festivities. They have ignored obstacles like high gas prices, roads chock-a-block with traffic, and the high cost of airline tickets. The number of travelers who are out to enjoy reached unseen levels ever since the coronavirus struck in March last year. Travel had come to a literal standstill, and those associated with the industry were gasping for breath.
As to road traffic, American Automobile Association AAA also endorses a high volume.
It quotes the Transportation Security Administration said an estimated 20 million people would pass through airport checkpoints nationwide through Sunday. Many would opt for rail. The surge is attributed to the improved status of vaccination. A senior official of AAA Travel says: “This Thanksgiving, travel will look a lot different than last year.”
Medics advise unvaccinated people to avoid travel during Thanksgiving
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises unvaccinated people to avoid travel. This is because there are concerns with some states recording high rate of new infections on a daily basis. Hospitals in Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, and Arizona report an increase in the number of patients.
In the opinion of Paula Twidale, the senior vice president of AAA Travel, there is bound to be a boom in travel because of the reopening of borders and new health and safety guidelines. However, travelers would have to shell out more fuel prices and increase car rental and flight prices. There is an improvement in the scenario when compared to the slowdown witnessed during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Airlines are prepared for the Thanksgiving holidays
Last month some airlines had to cancel flights because of bad weather in one part of the country. However, the airlines hope to avoid flight cancellations. A section of them has genuine problems because they had resorted to reducing the number of employees when travel collapsed last year.
Some of them have begun hiring, and the industry observers expect flights to stay on track. As an expert explains: “The airlines are prepared for the holidays.” They have taken measures to handle the situation.
One year ago, celebrating Thanksgiving was unimaginable
The entry of coronavirus threw lives into disarray. Things have changed, thanks to the availability of vaccines. Americans will now celebrate Thanksgiving. It was unthinkable during the pandemic. Millions of people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. They are from different age groups. There is no report of any side effects from the vaccines, and these have helped save lives. The survival chances of vaccinated people are higher in comparison to the unvaccinated.
The levels of hospitalization and deaths remain low. That reduced the burden on the medical infrastructure, which was strained to the limit. Children are back in school, college students are back on campus, and employees are back in workplaces. Even professional hockey and basketball teams have participated in hundreds of games in indoor arenas. With the threat of infection receding, lives are gradually returning to normal.
