Brace for crowded airports and roads: TSA expects summer travel to hit record highs

If you’re packing for a summer trip, be ready for the airport to be packed too.

The TSA expects summer travel volumes will be up 15% this year. Some days could see as many as three million passengers at U.S. airports.

Sea-Tac International Airport (SEA) handled a record 15.3 million passengers last year from June to August.

“This summer is going to be our biggest year on record without question,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.

The rush starts with Memorial Day weekend in two weeks.

Last summer was a disappointment for many travelers who were affected by flight delays and cancellations,

This summer, the airlines say they’re ready.

“We added pilots, we’ve added flight attendants. We’re flying about 5% more flights with larger aircraft. We’re fully staffed. We’re ready to go,” said Sharon Pinkerton, Senior Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Policy, Airlines for America.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it’s still about 3,000 air traffic controllers short of staffing goals.

On the road, AAA expects a record-breaking number of road trips this year.

More than 38 million people will head out over the Memorial Day weekend alone, but get ready to pay more to fill up.

According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gas is $3.60, up 7 cents from a year ago.

In Washington, the state average is $4.60 which is almost identical to last year. Diesel fuel is more than 30 cents cheaper than this point in 2023.