The long Thanksgiving weekend sees a deluge of travelers heading home to spend the festive season with their loved ones. However, owing to the recent attacks in Paris and threats by the Islamic State of further attacks, many people are feeling unsafe.
Security has been beefed up at U.S. airports and President Barack Obama is reassuring Americans that traveling is safe and there is no credible threat to the homeland. The government was taking steps to ensure that the homeland safe.
"In the event of a specific, credible threat, the public will be informed. Otherwise, Americans should go about their usual Thanksgiving weekend activities, spending time with families and friends and celebrating our blessings," said Obama.
Thanksgiving weekend is usually the busiest travel holiday in the U.S. Over 46.9 million Americans are anticipated to travel during this Thanksgiving weekend per the AAA, a motorist advocacy group. Of this number, 3.6 million people will be traveling by plane.
Tracking websites reveal that a bulk of the airports in the U.S. showed flight delays that were less than 15 minutes. With security measures heightened at airports, passengers traveling to New York from Washington divulged that they espied more security than usual. However, this did not hamper travel which continued to flow seamlessly.
With concerns about terrorist threats playing on the minds of the passengers, Obama urged Americans to be "vigilant" and report any unusual activities. They were taking every measure and "precaution" to keep Americans safe.
Jeh Johnson, Homeland Security Secretary, echoed Obama and advised people to be aware and alert.
"It should be obvious to the public that there is a heightened presence in places like in Union Station here, at airports and other public gathering places," said Johnson. "We are working overtime to protect the homeland."
Security in New York City has also been strengthened as the city gears up for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, which signals the start of the holiday shopping season and sees a huge throng of people.
