Thanksgiving

Despite New Safety Guidelines, Many Are Still Traveling for Thanksgiving

The CDC is urging people not to travel as COVID-19 cases spike across the country, but some in Massachusetts were flying out of Logan Airport anyway

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Despite the troubling spikes in coronavirus cases nationwide and the CDC warning against Thanksgiving travel, many people are still visiting loved ones in other parts of the country.

Beverly Abrain says she's seeing her family for Thanksgiving no matter what.

"I am nervous, but I want to be with my babies," said the resident of Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, who was flying to Georgia on Thursday.

The CDC is urging people not to travel for Thanksgiving as COVID-19 cases spike.

She says she's making sure she stays as safe as she can.

"Wash your hands," she said. "Keep your hands to yourself. We can do this."

This is typically one of the busiest travel seasons of the year, but passenger count remains extremely low because of the pandemic.

Airlines for America, a trade group that represents airlines, says travel was down 96% at one point this spring.

The trade group says overall, passenger volume is still down by about 62% domestically and 79% internationally.

At Logan International Airport in Boston, the latest numbers show that departing passenger count was down by nearly 79% last week compared to the same week last year.

While travel has picked up, the industry is still struggling and hoping to boost confidence in travel.

"I have sanitizing equipment in my pocketbook," said Waltham resident Penny Gold, who was flying to Florida. "I'm always rinsing my hands, I wear the face shield plus the mask underneath."

The CDC said Thursday it's recommending people don't travel for Thanksgiving.

But Brighton resident Sarah Mosher says she really wants to be with her family, so she's getting on a plane.

"Being able to see my family is really important to me, so I decided to take the risk," Mosher said.

The CDC said Thursday it's recommending people don't travel for Thanksgiving to help reduce the amount of virus transmission.

"Hopefully, there will be empty seats between passengers," said Marta Kriwczyk of Shirley. "That's really what I'm hoping for."

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