Buckle up, Memorial Day is going to be record-breaking.
A projected 45.1 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, AAA announced, kicking off the start of summer travel.
From Thursday, May 22 to Monday, May 26, domestic travel is expected to see an increase of 1.4 million travelers compared to last year — setting a new Memorial Day weekend record. The previous record was set in 2005 with 44 million travelers.
Though many Americans have concerns over rising costs, they’re still making the most of the long weekend to travel and spend time with friends and families.
“Memorial Day weekend getaways don’t have to be extravagant and costly,” Stacey Barber, Vice President of AAA Travel, said in a statement.
“While some travelers embark on dream vacations and fly hundreds of miles across the country, many families just pack up the car and drive to the beach or take a road trip to visit friends. Long holiday weekends are ideal for travel because many people have an extra day off work and students are off from school.”
In fact, a majority of vacationers — a projected 39.4 million — will be traveling via car during Memorial Day weekend, taking a road trip to reach their final destination.
According to AAA, 87% of people take road trips over this holiday weekend, and Hertz said the busiest day for rental car pickups is expected to be Friday, May 23.
The organization also shared the best and worst travel times when traveling by car, and as usual with holiday weekends, the best time to hit the road is in the morning.
Still, airports are also preparing for a bustling weekend, so fliers may want to plan ahead and get to the airport at least two hours before departure.
A projected 3.61 million jetsetters are flying to their destinations, a 2% increase over last year.
“While this Memorial Day weekend isn’t expected to set an air travel record (that was set back in 2005 with 3.64 million travelers), this year’s numbers are projected to surpass pre-pandemic levels by 12%,” a press release from the AAA read.
The most popular destinations being Orlando, Seattle, Denver, Chicago and New York — though those traveling to Big Apple might want to reconsider what airport they’re flying into amid the air traffic crisis at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).
Some take-off times may be delayed due to fliers now being required to have a REAL ID to travel domestically.
The rise in domestic travel comes as Air Canada said it is seeing a “low teens” percentage decline in bookings over the next six months for trips across the US amid heightened tensions over President Trump’s policies and rhetoric.
