Thanksgiving travel expected to be up from before the pandemic

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- On one of the busiest travel days of the year, people heading to and from Fresno were out in full force Wednesday.

AAA estimated nationwide, more than 53 million people will head out of town this holiday weekend.

Many of the local travelers Action News spoke with were college students -- happy to have a break from school, no matter the troubles of transportation.

"It was very long, a lot of traffic, delayed by half an hour," said Rajvir Singh.

He and his college roommate are back in Fresno from U.C. Davis.

RELATED: Fresno airport prepares for Thanksgiving holiday travel rush

About a million people will take a bus, boat, or train.

"It wasn't my first idea -- it was my mom, she planned it, I'm just along for the ride," said Carson Enderle, who is taking an Amtrak train from Fresno to Sacramento.

Enderle said it was a better option than sitting in a car for four hours.

But most Americans will be doing just that. AAA says 48 million people will spend hours in a car, often in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

About 4.2 million will board a plane.

Locally, Fresno Yosemite International Airport said it expects a 10% increase in air travel compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.