Instead of a holiday rush, some passengers prefer to travel on Christmas Day

NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. — According to Triple-A, more than 119 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home through Jan. 1. As a result, dozens of passengers prepared to board flights on Christmas Day at New York Stewart International Airport.

Matthias Jonsson told Spectrum News although he lives in New Jersey, he looks forward to visiting Iceland every year for Christmas.

“I do it every year,” Jonsson said. “This is not my first time. We meet up with my extended family and just celebrate over at dinner and hang out afterwards.” 

While Christmas traditions look different for everyone, Jonsson said traveling during the holidays has some benefits.

“It’s just really quiet in the airports,” Jonsson said. “There’s much less people traveling on the holiday days than before or after the holidays.”

According to Triple-A, it’s best to book domestic flights three to five months in advance and four to 10 months in advance for international travel.

Orange County resident Luis Morales said he’s grateful for the gift of travel this year. Morales told Spectrum News he’s not sure how much his plane ticket cost this year because he was given a free ticket to Europe.

“I don’t even know where Belgium is to be honest with you,” Morales said. “I just met this person at Grand Central in New York City and I got this surprise.”

For more information regarding holiday travel and price fluctuations, you can monitor the AAA website.