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Travel experts call Thanksgiving the ‘hidden best week’ to travel abroad

How about tucking into your turkey dinner in Italy this year?

Katy Nastro from Going.com, a travel deal website, said Thanksgiving is the “hidden best week to travel internationally,” and you can score a round-trip flight from the D.C. area to Milan for $486.

Nastro told WTOP that holiday flights from the D.C. region to Europe are plentiful and affordable, including to Dublin for $360 and Barcelona for $433.

“Thanksgiving is only a holiday in the States,” Nastro said. “That’s part of the reason why Thanksgiving is a really great time to travel internationally.”

Whether flying internationally or domestically, Nastro said the best time to book airfare is three to seven months in advance. If you haven’t booked yet, she said do so within the next two weeks to ensure you are taking advantage of any deals that are left.

Nastro said if you are thinking ahead to Christmas, you should also book your airfare before the end of October.

This year, you can expect to pay a little less. Nastro said the average price of airfare has fallen 13% from last year.

“Prices have really been in a downward trend since they peaked in May of 2022,” Nastro said. “Partly due to the softening of demand and also the fact that airlines are able to add more flights to the schedules.”

Given recent trends, Nastro predicts that this Thanksgiving could break travel records. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened the highest number of passengers ever on June 30, 2023, breaking a previous record from 2019.

Trump announces a $22.5B makeover of Dulles airport that will eliminate the ‘people movers’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a $22.5 billion renovation of Washington Dulles International Airport that will end the use of the widely disliked “people movers,” the mobile lounges that have been used for decades to shuttle travelers to and from the main terminal. In place of the people movers, the airport will add a new U-shaped passenger train, a central walking tunnel, more moving walkways and new concourses. An above-ground parking garage closer to the main terminal with space for 32,000 vehicles is also in the offing, according to Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The airport makeover would add to a long list of renovation projects the Republican president is pursuing to leave a lasting mark on the Washington region after his term ends in January 2029. Among other undertakings, he is building a new White House ballroom and wants to build a towering triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial. But of all the construction projects Trump is pursuing, the renovations at Dulles could prove to be his most popular and benefit the greatest number of people. The airport, the area’s primary international airport, served roughly 29 million passengers over the past year, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
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