Bay Area airport officials urge people traveling for Thanksgiving to reserve parking now before spots sell out and to plan ahead amid possible traffic delays related to APEC.
Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 23. Data from the Transportation Security Administration and airline schedules show the busiest days to travel will be Nov. 17, Nov. 22 and Nov. 27.
Nov. 17 coincides with the end of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, an event that is attracting world leaders and diplomats from 21 economies. Local authorities have warned of delays on freeways, including Highway 101, as dignitaries’ motorcades travel to and from the airport.
Oakland Expects Higher Traveler Volumes Than Last Year
Oakland International Airport officials expect more than 360,000 passengers to pass through the airport during the 11-day Thanksgiving holiday travel period. That’s a 2.2% increase over the same period last year, but still below the 2019 pre-pandemic traffic benchmark.
Oakland airport officials said non-reservation parking at the airport was limited and urged travelers to reserve spots online at oaklandairport.com/parking. Daily parking is $26 per day, and the economy lots are $18 per day. Parking in the “premier” lot closest to the terminals is $40 a day.
SFO Offering Discounts on Parking Reservations
San Francisco International Airport said it expected about 144,000 forecasted passengers to travel on Friday, Nov. 17. From Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, SFO should see 6.3 million travelers, about 87% of 2019 holiday season pre-pandemic traffic benchmark.
San Francisco International Airport is offering a discount on parking reservations made by Monday.
Stays of five days or longer in long-term parking will cost $20 per day—a $5-per-day savings off the regular $25-a-day rate. Stays of five days or longer in the domestic garage are $30 per day if booked now, but prices go back up to $36 a day starting Tuesday. Parking reservations can be changed or canceled up to two hours before your booked entry time.
Meanwhile, the ride-share service Lyft also encourages early bookings to rides for the airport—and offers a $100 credit if the driver is more than 10 minutes late.
Uber also offers scheduled rides, with the ability to cancel for free as long as you notify them more than an hour in advance.
For those who prefer public transit, BART trains serve both airports.
Sacramento Braces for Significant Seasonal Surge
Sacramento International Airport officials said they expected to see large volumes of travelers during the holiday weekend.
An airport representative told The Standard that Nov. 21, Nov. 22 and Nov. 27 would be its busiest travel days of the year, with SMF prepared to assist more than 100,000 passengers between Nov. 21 and Nov. 26. The airport’s most popular destinations for Thanksgiving travelers include Hawaii, Las Vegas, Mexico, Seattle and Southern California.
Airport staff said SMF would serve close to 13 million passengers in 2023, with last year’s 12,313,370 passengers nearly returning to 2019 pre-pandemic numbers.