HEBRON, Ky. -- With Thanksgiving now less than a day away, many of us will be hitting the roads and the airports Wednesday to be with family and friends for the holiday.
In general, most travel analysts say highways will be slightly busier and airports should be about as busy as we've seen over the last couple of years. The poor economy is expected to increase the number of people who stay closer to home and travel by car this year.
Remember: the airlines have spent the last few years sharply shrinking the number of flights they offer.
You can easily see that at the Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Airport (CVG), where the departure computer screens which used to fill all 16 monitors here, now only have enough flights to fill eight or nine screens. As of 6 a.m., only a small trickle of passengers could be seen waiting at ticket and check-in counters at CVG.
Although your individual flight may be more crowded, there's a chance that this Thanksgiving holiday, you'll actually get through the airport faster.
Cutbacks by Delta and other airlines mean the first morning flights out of CVG to New York and Atlanta don't leave until after 7 a.m. There appears to be a small bubble in flight departures from CVG between 8 a.m. And 10 a.m.
The biggest change for travellers here at CVG is the security checkpoint for Terminal 3 which handles Delta, Northwest and Continental flights. It's been moved into the main Terminal 3 building to give it more space for new x-ray equipment that is on the way.
This Thanksgiving holiday, the government says it is hoping to keep your wait to get through security down to 30 minutes or less. We'll keep an eye on that for much of the weekend.
More than ever, try to keep your baggage down to an absolute minimum this holiday. Almost all the airlines flying out of CVG will charge you for each and every bag you check in.
Travelling extra light can save you a lot of money this holiday weekend.
