Memorial Day travel could break a record from 2005 with 43.8 million expected to hit the road

A record number of Americans are expected to travel by car this Memorial Day weekend, potentially making airports the busiest since 2005, according to a forecast released Monday by AAA. .

The auto club expects 43.8 million people to travel more than 50 miles from home over the weekend, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. This is a 4% increase over the same period last year and is well within reach of the 2005 record of 44 million Memorial Day weekend travelers.

“We haven’t seen these numbers of travelers over the Memorial Day weekend in nearly 20 years,” said Paula Tweedale, senior vice president of AAA Travel. “We expect an additional 1 million more people to travel this weekend compared to 2019. Not only does this mean we have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, but it also marks the arrival of a very busy summer travel season. It means to.”

Road travelers are expected to reach 38.4 million, the highest number since AAA began tracking the data in 2000. Gasoline prices are about $3.57 per gallon, the same as last year, but AAA warned that “prices could rise further” due to fluctuations in oil prices. “Wild cards” and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine could put pressure on the oil market.

An additional 3.5 million people are expected to board planes, making it the busiest Memorial Day weekend in nearly 20 years. In 2005, as the travel industry recovered from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a record 3.6 million travelers boarded planes over Memorial Day weekend.

Demand for other modes of transportation, such as buses, trains and cruises, is also recovering from the effects of the pandemic. An estimated 1.9 million people are expected to use these other modes of transportation, an increase of 5.6% from a year ago.

“This category was hit the hardest during the pandemic, with fewer people using public transport or not taking cruises at all,” Tweedale said. “Five years later, we’re back to 2019 numbers. Demand for travel is surging, and long holiday weekends are the perfect opportunity to take a vacation.”