More Americans are expected to fly or drive far from home over Christmas than did last year, the Associated Press reports, putting a cap on a busy year for travel.
Auto club AAA forecast that 115.2 million people will go 50 miles or more from home during the 10 days between Dec. 23 and New Year’s Day. That’s 2.2% more than AAA predicted during the comparable stretch last year.
The AAA predicts that the holiday season will still fall 3% short of record travel in 2019, the last Christmas before COVID-19 hit the United States. Air travel in the U.S. has already rebounded, surpassing 2019 levels.
Airlines for America says 39 million people — about 2.8 million a day on average — will board U.S. flights between Dec. 20 and Jan. 2.
AAA predicts that 7.5 million people will fly in the U.S. in late December, but the club expects far more — nearly 104 million — to drive over the holidays.
Transportation data provider INRIX predicted that highways will be busiest on Saturday, Dec. 23, and Thursday, Dec. 28.
