Busy holiday travel weekend underway

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Folks across our region are hitting the roads and taking to the skies this weekend ahead of holiday celebrations.

Some are visiting the Green Mountains. “We’re just out here checking out Vermont, we’ve never been before, so we’re here in Burlington, so we’re going to go to Stowe for a few days and then Burlington for a few days,” said Ian Snyder, a traveler from Virginia.

“The kids are gonna do a full-day ski camp so we’re excited,” said Kiran Grewall of North Carolina.

And for others, it’s a homecoming. “I typically come home once a year and it’s on holiday, so now I’m doing that,” said Jed Morris of Hinesburg.

The auto club AAA predicts that more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day, which would top the previous holiday-season high set in 2019.

And with all those crowds, it’s not always jolly. Still, some embrace it. “I like the stopover because I like airplanes, and there were a lot of big airplanes at the Washington airport,” said Ranbir Grewall.

“It was super smooth. The airports were quiet going through Charlottesville and the airports were quiet going through DC, so yeah, as smooth as it could be,” Snyder said.

“Pittsburgh is really busy at this time of year. I think there were like 600 people going through TSA at the same time, but you know, not too, too bad,” Morris said.

The WCAX forecast calls for slick roads Friday night through Saturday, with sunny conditions Sunday but very cold temperatures and windchills below zero.

The airport’s Nic Longo says they’re ready for whatever comes. “We’re never really worried about weather, let me put it that way. We’re prepared,” he said. “We’re really excited to welcome people home and send folks off to their holiday adventures.”

Longo says to make sure you get to the airport early to avoid any issues. And if you’re hitting the roads, authorities urge everyone to buckle up and drive to the conditions.

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