On the Monday before Christmas, Americans are hitting the roads and heading to the airports. Travel experts said the holiday travel rush is now kicking into high gear.
AAA predicted Americans will set another record this Christmas and New Years. This comes after record-breaking travel during the 2024 Thanksgiving holiday.
The auto club expects 119.3 million will travel at least 50 miles between Saturday, Dec. 21, and Wednesday, Jan. 1. That’s about three million more than last year.
AAA said people are traveling in droves on the weekend before and after Christmas. They said this is because Christmas falls on a Wednesday.
The previous record for Christmas travel was set in 2019. Right now, the worst time to drive before Christmas is Monday, Dec. 23, from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. Roads are expected to be very congested.
Meantime, the TSA expects to screen about 40 million passengers from the time period that started last Thursday, Dec. 19, through Thursday, Jan. 2. That would be a 6% jump from the 2023 holiday season.
Looking ahead, the TSA anticipates Friday, Dec. 27, and Monday, Dec. 30, to be the next two busiest days for flying.
Despite airports being packed, AAA expects about 90% of holiday travelers, or roughly 107 million people, to drive to their destination. More than four million people will travel by other modes, such as bus or train, which would be the highest rate in 20 years.
