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Fewer people traveled at DFW Airport for Thanksgiving compared to Labor Day

Travel numbers released Thursday showed that people heeded warnings from the Center for Disease Control not to travel for Thanksgiving.

Travel numbers released Thursday showed that people heeded warnings from the Center for Disease Control not to travel for the week of Thanksgiving.

Travel was lower during the week of Thanksgiving compared to around Labor Day, according to the DFW Airport Board meeting. Travel was down 44% during the week of Thanksgiving compared to the same time last year.

CEO Sean Donahue told the board he believes the Center for Disease Control warnings not to travel played a big role.

Donahue expects that lower numbers will continue through Christmas and likely stay that way until COVID-19 vaccines are widely available.

“We’re going to go through a relatively quiet period for travel but I also believe we’ve got to be ready that when the vaccine distribution is widely available,” Donahue said. “I could see a real snapback in travel and it could happen pretty quickly and we’ve got to be ready for that.”

The airport saw 115,000 customers per day around Thanksgiving, but around 125,000 per day around Labor Day.

Nationwide, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 29, there were 1,176,091 people were screened at U.S. airports, according to the Transportation Security Administration. While that's far lower than during the same time last year, it was the busiest air travel day since mid-March.

People who gathered for Thanksgiving are urged to get tested for COVID-19.

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