Astonishing aerial footage shows bumper to bumper traffic as LA travellers set off for Thanksgiving

Astonishing aerial footage shows an enormous traffic jam as Los Angeles travellers set off for Thanksgiving.

ABC tweeted the staggering video on Wednesday, showing bumper to bumper queues on the 405 motorway, one the most congested routes in the United States.

Thousands have shared the clip, which shows the red and white headlights of the cars on the gridlocked road on Tuesday evening.

This year more than 50 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles away from their homes, the largest number since 2005, according to the AAA.

Meanwhile 89 per cent of all those getting away for Thanksgiving will travel by car.

The annual celebration, which takes place on Thursday, kicked off on Tuesday when Donald Trump partook in the presidential tradition of pardoning a turkey.

The act of leniency meant 47-pound Drumstick and 36-pound Wishbone will get to live the rest of their lives at a farm in Virginia, where they will join Tater and Tot, pardoned by Barack Obama in 2016.

President George H W Bush established the annual turkey pardon tradition in 1989 when he spared an unnamed, 50-pound turkey.