It was a record setting Thanksgiving Air Travel period. More than 30 million traveled and the record setting day was Sunday, November 25th with over 3 million flyers in one day.
According to the American Automobile Association (better known as AAA) this was the biggest Thanksgiving travel week since 2005. They estimated over 48 million drove. Over 9 million in the Midwest alone. That left the others to catch trains or better yet, fly (https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/more-than-54-million-americans-expected-to-travel-this-thanksgiving/95-615861019).
A group known as A4A tracks flight travel out of Washington DC. For the 12 days around Thanksgiving they estimated that over 30 million Americans would fly. The busiest day was Sunday, November 25 with 3.06 million travelers (https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielreed/2018/11/14/scoot-over-more-passengers-will-fly-this-thanksgiving-holiday-season-than-well-maybe-ever/#50764e2915e1)
On an average day in American 2.3 million passengers fly. That would be every man, woman and child in the Greater Cincinnati area. On Sunday November 25, four days after Thanksgiving, airlines packed 800,000 more passengers than usual on flights.
I don’t think when the Pilgrims started Thanksgiving in October of 1621, they ever entertained such a thought. They were simply out to start a Christian nation. Their wisdom in establishing a day of thanks to God for his bountiful blessings has paid huge dividends for the airlines.