Are you traveling by plane? Get ready to face long lines: the 10-day travel period between Christmas and New Year’s is likely to be the busiest of all time at U.S. airports, according to AAA’s forecast.
The expectation is that 7.5 million people will travel by air, surpassing the previous record of 7.3 million set in 2019, according to the forecast released on Monday (12) by AAA. Average airfare prices are slightly lower than last year.
Overall, it is expected that 115 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this holiday season, making it the second busiest since 2000, when AAA began tracking holiday travel. The busiest year on record was 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted travel worldwide.
The majority of travelers will drive to their destinations, with nearly 104 million people expected to hit the road. The estimated number of drivers is the second highest ever recorded, after 2019.
For travelers who can wait to hit the road, minimal traffic is expected on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; similarly on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Traveling before noon or after 7 PM is the best bet on the busiest days during the holiday period, according to INRIX, a transportation data provider.
INRIX believes that the most congested days on the roads will be Saturday, December 23, and Thursday, December 28.
Source: CNN