RALEIGH, N.C – Experts said the week of Thanksgiving will be a test for how the rest of the 2020 holiday season will go.

AAA Carolinas spokesperson Tiffany Wright said it's very hard for her organization to issue travel forecasts because it doesn't have good data from Memorial Day or Independence Day, which normally are major travel holidays. Preliminary estimates suggested air travel could be down by nearly half compared to 2019, but those estimates were released before the CDC released guidance urging people not to travel. 

Wright said most people appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach. She said it's best to follow health guidelines and skip traveling this year. If you do travel, she said to make sure you check the latest COVID-19 guidelines for your entire route.

“You might be in one state 20 minutes, and then 20 minutes later you might be in another state where there's not a mask mandate,” she said. “You just want to make sure what those local authorities have in place.”

At a briefing earlier this week, Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority CEO Michael Landguth said airport staff will monitor foot traffic throughout Thanksgiving week. He said they will pay particularly close attention to periods when a number of flights disgorge passengers at once. If those crowds get dense enough, Landguth said his team might work with airlines to space people out for the later holidays.

Wright said would-be travelers likely will continue their wait-and-see approach throughout the December holidays. She said many people might not decide to travel until a couple of days before their planned departure or even on the day of.

Even with reduced crowds, officials at both Charlotte-Douglas and Raleigh-Durham international airports recommend you arrive at least two hours before your flight. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is still expected to be the busiest travel day of Thanksgiving week.