SNL Sketch Captures Thanksgiving Travel Chaos, Highlights Ongoing Airport Pain Points
NEWARK, NJ – November 27, 2025 – A recent Saturday Night Live sketch, “Thanksgiving Week Airport Parade,” is resonating with travelers bracing for one of the busiest travel periods of the year. The comedic take on the annual Thanksgiving rush, wich debuted two years prior, accurately depicts the frustrations of navigating crowded airports, especially at hubs like Newark Liberty International Airport.
The sketch, sponsored within the fictional parade by Hudson News, satirizes common holiday travel woes – from inexperienced travelers slowing security lines to the prevalence of questionable emotional support animals and even the specter of impaired pilots. The enduring popularity of the sketch underscores the consistent challenges faced by air travelers during peak seasons, a reality amplified by consistently high flight loads and potential for disruptions. the sketch’s commentary on viral videos documenting passenger incidents also reflects a growing trend of public scrutiny of airline travel behavior.
The SNL segment highlights the “amateur day” phenomenon, referring to the Wednesday before and Sunday after Thanksgiving as periods when less frequent flyers contribute to longer wait times and slower boarding processes. The sketch accurately points to common bottlenecks like crowded Starbucks and Sbarro locations within airports. Travel experts consistently advise passengers to allow extra time and book flights with generous connection windows to mitigate the risk of missed flights due to congestion.
The sketch’s humor extends to portrayals of TSA screeners and “crazy plane lady” incidents, referencing a scene where a passenger’s meltdown is filmed and shared widely across social media platforms, described in the sketch as going “viral on black twitter and white twitter.” SNL‘s depiction of Newark Airport as a “third choice” for travelers further emphasizes the airport’s reputation for congestion and delays.
