The July Fourth vacation weekend is off to a growing start with airport crowds squashing the numbers seen in 2019, priorto the pandemic.
Travelers throughout the United States experienced hundreds of canceled flights and a coupleof thousand hold-ups on Friday, much as they did earlier this week.
Patricia Carreno showedup with pals at Los Angeles International Airport just to discover that their Alaska Airlines flight to Mazatlan, Mexico, hadactually been canceled.
“We’re mostlikely going to drive down to Mexico — to Tijuana, the border — and simply fly from there,” she stated.
The Transportation Security Administration evaluated more than 2.4 million tourists at airport checkpoints on Thursday, 17% more than on the exactsame Friday priorto July Fourth in2019 U.S. air travel is mostlikely to set a pandemic-era record at least when over the weekend.
Traffic on the highway might be heavy too.
AAA forecasts that almost 48 million individuals will travel at least 50 miles or more from house over the weekend, alittle less than in2019 AAA states vehicle travel will set a record even with the nationwide typical cost for fuel hovering near $5.
Leisure travel has bounced back this year, and that indicates especially huge crowds over three-day vacation weekends.
With lotsof flights offered out over the July Fourth weekend, airlines will battle to discover seats for travelers like Carreno whose flights are canceled. Airlines informed clients to check their flight’s status priorto going to the airport.
If you’re currently at the airport when your flight is canceled, “it’s time to flex your multitasking abilities,” stated Sebastian Modak, editor-at-large of travel guide publisher Lonely Planet.
Modak encouraged heading straight to the airlinecompany’s assistance desk, monitoring its app on your phone, and calling the airlinecompany’s customer-service line — an worldwide number may be respondedto earlier than a U.S. one for airlinecompanies that have both. He stated driving or taking the bus or train will be a muchbetter alternative for muchshorter journeys.
“There’s no getting around the truth that this is