Joel Rose

Airlines for America, an industry trade group, says airlines will carry more than 31 million passengers during the Thanksgiving travel season.

Joel Rose, NPR News, Arlington, Virginia.

At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, many travelers said they were pleasantly surprised to find manageable lines and few delays.

Patrice and David Lombardo flew in from Savannah, Georgia.

There were few signs of the staffing shortages of air traffic controllers that caused disruptions during the government shutdown.

But there were some weather-related problems, as a major storm caused delays at airports in the Twin Cities and Chicago.

Airlines for America, an industry trade group, says airlines will carry more than 31 million passengers during the Thanksgiving travel season.

Joel Rose, NPR News, Arlington, Virginia.

The Department of Transportation has said it will give $10,000 bonuses to air traffic controllers who did not miss a single shift during the 43-day shutdown.

But only a small fraction of working air traffic controllers will qualify.

Just 311 controllers out of more than 10,000 will get the cash bonuses, according to the Controllers Union.

And that's causing some resentment among those who did not qualify.

Some have called the bonuses unfair and even a betrayal of those who did a lot of hard work during the shutdown.

The Federal Aviation Administration says this could be the busiest Thanksgiving in 15 years.

And FAA Administrator Brian Bedford says the aviation system is ready for the challenge.

But there are indications that Thanksgiving air travel could be down this year, perhaps because of travelers who made other plans during the government shutdown.

Advanced bookings were down about 4 percent compared to last year, according to data from the aviation analytics company Sirium.

Still, the number of Americans traveling for Thanksgiving is expected to set records, according to AAA, with the vast majority, about 73 million, traveling by car.

Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington.

The FAA says it's sending letters of investigation to airlines that may not have complied with the agency's order to reduce capacity during the shutdown.