People were excited to be travelling again ahead of Thanksgiving after the U.S. government shutdown caused widespread flight cancellations and delays.

Danielle Lacabe and her son, Jaren, travelled to Beaumont, Texas, from Tampa, Florida for a family reunion.

"Traveling was rough," she said due to the plane developing a mechanical fault.

"Third time was a charm, our female pilot got us here safely, and we're just excited to be with our family." she said.

It's been more than a week since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the unprecedented flight restrictions it placed on commercial airlines during the shutdown.

The FAA said it was anticipating its busiest Thanksgiving in 15 years, with more than 360,000 flights scheduled between Monday and next Tuesday.

That’s more than 17.8 million people who will be screened at airports, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

AP video and production by Lekan Oyekanmi