Gallery: Top 10 domestic city travel destinations this Thanksgiving season

From Interstate 91 leaving Springfield, Mass. to Route 40 heading for Flagstaff, Ariz., byways and thoroughfares across the country are congested this week with travelers commuting to out-of-state destinations for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Tuesday and Wednesday before, and the Sunday afterward, are historically the busiest travel days of the year, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). 

And this year, the TSA expects to screen 30 million passengers—an American record.

“We expect this holiday season to be our busiest ever. In 2023, we have already seen seven of the top 10 busiest travel days in TSA’s history,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske in a statement. “We are ready for the anticipated volumes and are working closely with our airline and airport partners to make sure we are prepared for this busy holiday travel season.”

The TSA has already recorded multiple days with more than 2.8 million passengers screened in 2023. The current record for the heaviest passenger screening volume in TSA history was documented on Friday, June 30, when officers screened nearly 2.9 million passengers at checkpoints nationwide. 

While roadways and airport terminals nationwide are expected to be congested this week, some metropolitan areas are busier than others, according to a new ranking from Allianz Partners, a travel insurance company. Analysts reviewed 800,000 travel itineraries to rank the top 10 busiest domestic destinations. 

“For the third consecutive year, New York City reigns as the number one domestic destination drawing in Americans for Thanksgiving celebrations. In 2020, Seattle was the only destination to knock the Big Apple from its number one spot since the survey’s inception in 2015, and the big-city outdoor haven continues to stay on top of the charts with its number two position this year,” reads a statement about the findings. “Orlando rounds out the top three for the second year in a row, indicating Americans’ desire for warm weather fall getaways.”

Detroit is back in the annual top-10 list after being knocked out in 2022, and Dallas notably made a two-place jump year over year. Other major cities filling out the top 10 include Atlanta, Boston, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

“No matter where you’re headed this Thanksgiving, it’s important to keep in mind that this travel period is historically one of the busiest of the entire year for U.S. airports, and with increased numbers of travelers comes an increased possibility of travel delays,” said Daniel Durazo, director of external communications at Allianz Partners USA, in the statement.