Millions of people expected to travel this Labor Day weekend

Millions of people are expected to hop in a car or on a plane this weekend to enjoy some of these final days of summer this Labor Day weekend.

The Transportation Security Administration is prepared for what it expects to be the busiest Labor Day travel period on record.

“Did you ever see the movie ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles?'” asked Greg Beauleiu, who was traveling from the west coast to Albany.

Beauleiu was supposed to fly into the Capital City Thursday but due to weather was unable to land in Virginia and wound up in Pennsylvania.

“I stayed in a hotel,” he said. “There were no flights to Albany until Sunday. Unacceptable, so I actually rented a car from Dulles this morning and drove up to Albany.”

On Thursday, TSA screened more than 2.7 million fliers, about 130,000 more than it did one the same day last year. Experts suspect slightly cheaper airfare contributing to more people taking flight.

“I walked right up to the screening place and went right through, right up to the ticketing counter, no issues at all,” said Lyne Stull-Lipps, who flew into Albany from Pennsylvania Friday. “That really surprises me.”

Out on the roadways is a similar story. The American Automobile Association predicted domestic travel this Labor Day weekend to be up by about 9% over last year.

“Usually, this time of year people are going out to the beaches,” said Alex Lalani, of Delaware who was driving his family to Montreal “We’re going the opposite direction, so we figure it’s not going to be too bad.”

This might be due to some lower prices at the pump with the national average sitting at $3.36 per gallon, more than 40 cents cheaper than it was this time last year.

But most drivers say the cheaper price didn’t carry much weight this year.

“We just keep in mind that when you’re going to travel, you’re going to spend money, so you don’t worry about things like that,” Lalani said.

Experts say Monday is the most popular time for folks to return home and suggest hitting the before 10 a.m.