Travel officials are warning of one of the busiest Memorial Day weekends in nearly two decades, and highways and airports are expected to be packed with travelers starting Friday.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) authorities expect Friday It will be the busiest travel day of the long weekend, with nearly 3 million passengers expected to pass through airports that day.
From Thursday to Wednesday, the TSA expects to screen more than 18 million people – a 6.4% increase over the same period in 2023.
TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement that the national TSA is working in “close coordination with airports, airlines and travel partners” and “we are more than ready to handle the increased volume of travel this summer ”.
AAA in the same way expect record levels of travel this weekend, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
In total, AAA expects 43.8 million travelers to travel at least 50 miles using some form of transportation – the second highest level since AAA began tracking in 2000. The record was set in 2005 with 44 million travelers of Memorial Day.
The nearly 44 million anticipated travelers also represent a 4.1% increase over last year.
“We haven’t seen travel numbers like these for Memorial Day weekend in nearly 20 years,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president at AAA Travel, in a statement.
“We are projecting one million more travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we are surpassing pre-pandemic levels, but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead,” she added. .
AAA expects 3.51 million air travelers, a 4.8% increase from last year and a significant 9.3% increase from 2019.
The organization expects 38.4 million people to travel by car, an increase of 4% compared to last year and 1.9% compared to 2019.
And it expects 1.90 million people to travel using some other means of transport, an increase of 5.6% compared to last year and 0.3% compared to 2019.
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