Near-record numbers of travelers took to the skies for the Thanksgiving holiday amid FAA warnings of flight delays and the promise of big crowds at South Florida’s international airports.

AAA forecasts 79.9 million people will travel by car, plane or another mode of transportation for Thanksgiving -- up 1.7 million people compared to last year.

Millions of US citizens will be traveling over the Thanksgiving period, but plans to visit loved ones and eat copious amounts of food could be hampered by flight cancellations or delays as they attempt to cross the country in one of the most busiest holidays for travel.