The Memorial Day Holiday Weekend is underway and folks are hitting the highways and airports to get out of town.
“2.9 million people will be traveling by automobile this weekend,” Daniel Armbruster with Triple A Texas tells NewsRadio 74 KTRH. “That’s 3.4 million total when you look at air travel. That’s the category that’s gone up the most. 256,000 people will fly this weekend.”
That’s up 5% from last year, and the most in more than a dozen years.
“There are construction zones all across Texas, and just because gas prices are higher this year doesn’t mean that the roads are going to be any less crowded. Travelers can save money in other areas such as lower hotel rates this year, and car rental rates are lower this year,” Armbruster advises.
The busiest days for driving are expected to be the Thursday and Friday that proceed the actual weekend, combing vacationers with regular commuters on major thoroughfares. INRIX, a global transportation analytics company, says delays on major roads could be three time longer than normal.
At airports Friday will be the busiest, with AirHelp, an app that tracks disruptions in service, finding 20% of airline travelers had less than stellar experiences last year. Expect the same this year. In their list of the ten routes most likely to experience disruptions, find comfort that none of them involve Texas airports.
We haven’t seen this many people getting away for the Memorial Weekend since 2005.