AAA estimates record-setting travel numbers for the holiday week

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – We’re under a week away from the Fourth of July and air travel is expected to hit record highs during the holiday weekend.

AAA estimates over 5.7 million people will travel through the air this week, which according to their estimates, is 400 thousand more travelers than this time last year.

Airports typically expect to have more travelers during the holiday season, anticipating longer security lines and potentially delays in flights.

Western Mass News spoke with some travelers at Bradley International Airport who shared their Independence Day weekend travel experience.

“I was traveling from Houston, and I feel like the lines were a lot longer than they usually are as somebody who travels frequently,” traveler Kennedy Brown told us.

Omar Asad was traveling up to New England from Atlanta, and he said the terminal was busy in Georgia, but he’s had no holiday travel hiccups so far.

“When I got to Atlanta, I was at Hartfield-Jackson, it was a very busy airport, it was pretty busy today. Other than that, I didn’t really have any delays or anything, everything was pretty easy even with the traffic.”

While other airports around the country seemed to be busy during this holiday week, Bradley International had normal traffic flow according to folks making their way through the terminal.

Steven LaChance was traveling home from Orlando where he told us his flight time going to Orlando was changed without notice.

“Our flight to Orlando was scheduled earlier without telling anyone, it just went from 7 p.m. to 5 p.m., so that was surprising.”

But for the most part, travelers out of Bradley Airport said they’re experiencing an average holiday travel schedule.

“We actually had never been to this airport before, it seems pretty quiet. We are here from Texas for a lacrosse tournament, and yeah, I mean, it seems pretty quiet,” traveler Myra Philips added.

Flying across the U.S. during the Independence Day travel period is also a little cheaper than last year.

AAA booking data shows domestic airfare is 2% cheaper with the average price for a domestic roundtrip costing $800

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