Travelers, get ready for an eventful Memorial Day weekend.
This year, peak weekend travel is going to be hectic, according to travel app Hopper’s latest report. AAA also said it would be “the third-busiest Memorial Day weekend” in more than two decades.
Most people will travel by plane. It is expected that US airports will be crowded between Thursday and Monday. This year’s Memorial Day weekend sees a 17% increase in seating capacity compared to last year.
“We are seeing strong demand for domestic workers, with nearly 17 million passengers scheduled to depart from US airports next weekend,” Hayley Berg, chief economist at Hooper, told USA TODAY by email. “Demand remains high in the summer, especially for international travel, as many popular destinations are still closed to tourism this time last year.”
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Many travelers are hoping to fly internationally over the weekend or extend their trips into Tuesday on a longer trip, the Hooper report said. A low last-minute domestic airfare also adds to the mix.
Unfortunately, the weekend is just setting the tone for a chaotic summer of travel.
“Expect long lines and potential outages during the peak first weekend of summer as airlines and airports manage schedules as we approach the busiest time of the year for travel,” Berg added.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press briefing Tuesday that airlines’ on-time performance has improved in the past few months.
In the first three months of 2023, cancellations were less than 2%, down from last year’s cancellation rate of 2.7%, according to the Department of Transportation.
“And so far, in May, we’re seeing those numbers hold up,” Buttigieg said. But this weekend will be a test for the system.
When will the busiest airports be this weekend?
There are three days this weekend when you should expect long lines at airport security and potential disruptions. Most airports will be busy during the morning or early evening.
Most travelers on weekend trips will depart on Thursday and Friday. The latter is set to be the busiest day for travel, with passengers expected to occupy more than 3.5 million seats on the plane.
People are expected to go home for Memorial Day Monday, so expect crowds at the airport.
Which airports will be busiest on Memorial Day weekend?
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is expected to be the busiest airport this weekend, especially in the morning, according to Huber analysts. The report said more than 1.1 million passengers will depart from this hub.
Other busy airports include: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Denver International Airport, and Los Angeles International Airport, all of which are scheduled to handle about 700,000 departing passengers.
“If there’s a problem, we have your back,” Buttigieg said, adding that passengers can always check the DOT dashboard at flightrights.gov.
When will the roads be busiest this weekend?
To avoid crowded airports and save money, many travelers will hit the roads. About 37.1 million American travelers take a road trip this Memorial Day weekend, up 6% from last year. Drivers should prepare for rush hour traffic delays, especially around major metropolitan areas.
“Gas prices are lower this holiday than last year, when the national average was more than $4 a gallon,” AAA said. “Despite lower prices at the pump, car travel this holiday will be just shy of pre-pandemic numbers by about 500,000 commuters.”
Like airports, the roads will be busiest on Friday afternoon as people set off for their destination. Transportation analytics firm INRIX said the best time to travel by car is on Thursdays and Fridays before 1pm and noon, respectively. If you can, consider traveling on a Saturday or Sunday for the lightest traffic.
When you get home, aim for a Monday morning before 10 a.m. Once you get to noon and 3 p.m., traffic picks up. “Knowing when and where congestion will occur can help drivers avoid the stress of sitting in traffic,” Bob Pecheaux, INRIX transportation analyst, said in a statement. “Our advice is to avoid driving during peak hours or to use alternate routes.”
Kathleen Wong is a travel correspondent for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at [email protected]
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