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SEATAC, Wash. – With Thanksgiving travel getting underway, hundreds of thousands will make their way through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for the holiday season.
Local perspective:
Sunday night, TSA lines were fairly short and moving along at a good pace. The travelers FOX 13 spoke to say they were eager to see their families for the holiday season.
“It’s not soft and fluffy and furry, but it really works for her,” said Thyatira Thompson, who was flying to Texas with his family Sunday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Thompson family is roaring into the holiday season at SEA Airport with little Raeya and her traveling T. rex.
“This is Renzy. Renzy is an important part of our family,” said Elaina Thompson, Raeya’s mom, about the plastic Tyrannosaurus rex that her daughter loves to tote around with her.
“Cuddliest T. rex you’ll ever meet,” said Thyatira Raeya’s dad.
Renzy is helping the family take the bite out of Thanksgiving travel.
“This is her comfort animal. She sleeps with Renzy. She travels with Renzy,” he said. Renzy is pictured below at SEA Airport.
And, this isn’t Renzy’s first trip. The dino has been traveling around the world with the family.
“Renzy has been to the Eiffel Tower. Renzy has been to the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens,” said Thyatira.
The T. rex is always ready to hand out toothy kisses when traveling gets tough.
“Renzy is the gal. She’s a female T. rex. She only eats meat, and she loves traveling with Raeya.
By the numbers:
Who couldn’t use support while clawing through the busy travel season? SEA expects more than 900,000 passengers through December 1st and AAA is projecting nearly 82 million Americans will travel domestically for Thanksgiving.
The holiday travel forecast is monster-sized in 2025, with AAA reporting an additional 1.6 million traveling compared to last year.
Washington State Ferries is also adding extra sailings for an estimated 300,000 riders. WSDOT is also providing graphics at this link, which alert travelers to the peak travel times on the major roadways.
State officials urge travelers to plan ahead, arrive early and expect heavy traffic on I-90 and at border crossings throughout the holiday weekend.
Everyone has their own method of coping.
“Normally, I just buy the ticket, and I go. I never plan ahead,” said Stephanie De Los Santos, who was traveling back to Hong Kong for the holidays Sunday.
“Lower your expectations. I guess they say to get here two hours early. We left two hours beforehand,’ said Elaina. “Take it slow. Take it at a toddler pace.”
The air traffic control tower is seen at the distance as Alaska Airlines planes sit at the gates at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in SeaTac, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Raeya says Renzy’s going to love Thanksgiving dinner.
“She’s a meat eater,” said Raeya.
The family headed out, advising that the holidays could be dino-mite, no matter how busy they get.
“You have to seize the moment. You can’t just wish you had lived your life. You have to come out and live it,” said Elaina.
“We only have so much time on this earth to spend with the people that we love, so it’s truly worth it,” said Thyatira.
AAA predicts that concerns over recent flight cancellations could mean some air travelers switch to road trips.
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Jennifer.Dowling@fox.com (Jennifer Dowling)
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