There's no place like home for the holidays, and record numbers of people are expected to travel this year.
Automobile club AAA expects 119.3 million people to travel more than 50 miles between Dec. 21 and Jan. 1, about 3 million more than last year.
If their predictions come true, the number of holiday travelers in 2024 will exceed the previous record set in 2019 by 64,000.
“With Christmas falling on a Wednesday this year, we expect record numbers of travelers on the weekends surrounding Christmas,” said Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel.
AAA predicts that the number of air travelers this holiday season will set a new record of about 7.9 million, up from 7.5 million last year.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) also Traffic congestion is expectedannounced this week that it expects to test nearly 40 million people between December 19 and January 2, a 6.2% increase over 2023. December 20th, 27th and 30th are expected to be the busiest.
Even if the government were to shut down on Saturday, there would not be an immediate impact on flight or airport operations. But the longer a potential closure drags on, the worse the situation could become.
As was the case during the most recent shutdown in 2019, large numbers of TSA employees and air traffic controllers, who will continue to work without pay until federal funding is provided, report feeling sick, resulting in long wait times, delays, and There is a possibility that there will be a series of flight cancellations.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Friday morning that Republicans had arrived at Plan C to avoid a government shutdown after Plan B failed to pass Thursday night.
Almost 90% of travelers drive to their destination. This is a mode of transportation that never closes. AAA expects 107 million people to travel by car, just shy of 2019's record of 108 million.
