OAN’s Abril Elfi
3:35 PM – Thursday, May 23, 2024
Almost 44 million Americans are expected to travel at least 50 miles for Memorial Day Weekend.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), nearly 44 million people are expected to travel for the long weekend, making it the busiest Memorial Day weekend in two decades.
The organization released a statement saying that they believe it’s a sign that this summer will draw in a lot of traveling.
“We’re expecting Memorial Day weekend numbers like we haven’t seen in almost 20 years. It’s not just a return to pre-pandemic levels but also foreshadows the robust summer travel season ahead,” said Brian Ng, senior vice president of membership and travel marketing for AAA Utah, in a statement last week.
AAA has estimated that approximately 38.4 million Americans will drive at least 50 miles over the weekend which is a projected increase by 4% from last year and by 1.9% from before the pandemic.
The association has advised those that are hoping to avoid the worst traffic to leave metropolitan areas early on Thursday and Friday. They also advised individuals to avoid the roads between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday and Monday.
“We haven’t seen any pullback in travel since the pandemic. Year after year, we have seen these numbers continue to grow,” AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said. “We don’t know when it’s going to stop. There’s no sign of it yet.”
As for TSA, they have also released statements saying that they are planning to screen over 18 million travelers and crew members beginning on Thursday.
This is reportedly up 6.4% compared to last year and Friday is expected to be the busiest out of all the days with three million people traveling.
“We’re going to break those records this summer,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said.
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