Holiday travel surge expected as AAA projects 6.2% increase from last year

WASHINGTON (7News) — Holiday travel is here and not only are we going to see more travelers compared to last holiday season, it’s going to be substantially more. According to AAA, we will see a 6.2% increase from 2023.

It does start to feel like a broken record each holiday season, but once again this year, officials are predicting this Christmas and New Year’s holiday period to be the busiest on record for air and road travel. Friday could be the TSA‘s busiest day since the agency was formed 23 years ago. Officers are expected to screen 40 million passengers between now and Jan. 2.

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The busiest time for airports like Reagan National is 8 a.m. to noon, so make sure to give yourself plenty of time. The cheapest days to fly are Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to Expedia. The busiest and most expensive days will be Friday, Dec. 20 through the weekend. As for road travel, about 107 million people are forecast to drive to their holiday destinations. That’s about 2.5 million more people than last year, according to AAA.

Holiday travelers fretting about how a looming government shutdown will affect their flights can breathe easy — for now.

If there is a government shutdown, TSA officers and air traffic controllers will continue to work. Air traffic controllers — already facing a nationwide shortage — and about 59,000 TSA employees are considered essential employees. However, during a five-week partial government shutdown over the holidays in 2018, hundreds of TSA workers called out sick from work.

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Travel agency Hopper said the most popular Christmas destinations in the U.S. are Las Vegas, New York City, and Orlando, Florida.

The Federal Aviation Administration predicts this Friday and next Friday, Dec. 27 to be the most crowded days to fly. United Airlines, for example, is planning for its busiest holiday travel period ever, with 9.9 million passengers expected between today and Jan. 6. The airline is adding almost 500 more flights per day during its holiday travel period. If you are driving for the holidays, Friday is the worst travel time is between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. and the best time is before 11 a.m., according to analytics company INRIX.

On Saturday, Jan. 21, the worst time to hit the road is between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.; the best time is before 2 p.m. Traffic will be minimal on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.

Here is a fun fact for those who are flying: American Airlines said it will give out more than 6.6 million bags of pretzels during its holiday travel period.