The past three years of flying back home from school has taught me that the Thanksgiving holiday (including the days before and after) is hands down the worst time of the year to fly. Due to the mixture of different religions in the United States, for Christmas, different families travel to a variety of different places. Some go abroad, while others go south of the border for some warmer weather.
But Thanksgiving is the one holiday where families across the United States travel to be with each other. For this reason, airports across the country are saturated and become the worst nightmare for any traveler.
Check in and security lines are easily three times as long as normal. If you didn't plan to be early for your flight, plan to beg to everyone in the line to let you cut the line, because chances are, you won't make your flight otherwise. If possible, try to avoid flying the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. According to USA Today, this is the busiest day of the year and the worst day to travel.
If you live in the northeast, and that year has been a cold and terrible year for weather, be very wary of the snow storms. It is possible that you could be snowed in and end up not leaving, so look to see if you can change your flight. Many times, airlines know they are going to have to reschedule the flight anyway, and getting on an earlier flight as opposed to a later one puts you ahead of everyone else.
Be prepared for long waiting hours and rescheduling of flights. Bring either a book to read, music to listen to, or a movie to watch, because the long waits can be brutal and try the patience of even the most patient person in the world.