More efficient security screenings, more runways, some relaxed rules governing air space, and fewer fliers may combine to make holiday travel less of a headache for an anticipated 4.54 million people over Thanksgiving alone.

The holiday period from Thanksgiving through Christmas is one of the busiest times of year at the nation's airports. But while 4.54 million may sound like a lot of Thanksgiving fliers, it represents a drop of about 7.2 percent from the 4.89 million air travelers last year, according to AAA.

One of the first places air travelers may see a change is at security gates. The Transportation Security Administration said its popular family lane concept is set to be in place at every U.S. airport security checkpoint by Thursday.

The lanes, now in use at 48 airports, allow families and those with special needs to go through security at their own pace -- while the bulk of airline passengers can move more rapidly.

The checkpoints also allow TSA screeners to more closely examine medically necessary liquids, gels and aerosols like baby formula, insulin, cough syrup, contact lens solution and prescription medications.

Along with a more efficient passenger screening program, TSA said its recent deployment of 2,000 behavior detection specialists and 240 explosives detection specialists has resulted in fewer security false alarms -- and better security.

Of the 60,285 passengers that behavioral screeners deemed suspicious so far this year, 509 were arrested for various reasons, according to the TSA. The program has also cut the number of terminal evacuations nearly in half, from 194 in 2007 to 98 this year, TSA said.

'Thanksgiving Express Lanes' Open

Last year, President George W. Bush signed off on a measure that allowed the Pentagon to open two corridors of airspace from Florida to Maine, creating a "Thanksgiving express lane" for commercial planes. This year, he expanded the program to areas of the Midwest, the Southwest, and the West Coast, including the skies over Phoenix and Los Angeles.

The corridors are usually used for military exercises.

The president, speaking at the Department of Transportation, said last year's program was effective. But the union representing air traffic controllers said last year's efforts had little impact on traffic congestion, and this year's steps are not likely to provide any significant relief, either.

Bush also spotlighted efforts to clear airline congestion over the metropolitan New York area. "We have improved our traffic control. We added a new departure route from the metro area and capped the total number of flights, providing nearly $90 million over the next eight years to upgrade taxiways at JFK. And in January, the FAA will start auctioning takeoff and landing slots at New York airports. This will increase competition for access to these airports, and we strongly believe increased competition will help lower fares to consumers," he said.

More Runways Open

The anticipated drop in holiday air travel is part of a larger trend: The airline industry projects 10 percent drop in domestic flights this winter.

Still, that hasn't derailed plans to open multimillion-dollar runways at three U.S. airports on Thursday that are heralded as a solution to congestion and delays in the long term.

More than $450 million was spent on a runway at Chicago's O'Hare International. Dulles International, just outside of Washington, D.C., spent $350 million on its runway project. And the more than $1 billion was spent at Seattle-Tacoma International.

Some call new runways a positive step but no cure-all for chronic delays.

"The greater challenge will be to do something about modernizing air space so that those improvements in efficiency on the ground is matched in the air," said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents U.S. carriers.

The association backs a Federal Aviation Administration push for a new satellite-based network that would let planes fly using GPS, instead of radar, though funding and implementation issues have hampered the $30 billion project.