Record holiday travel expected in Georgia, across U.S.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Millions of Americans will take to the roads and skies starting Friday as the year-end holiday travel period begins.
The Christmas holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year and maybe even the most stressful. We expect to see busy roads and airports over the coming days.
About 3.7 million Georgians are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home to celebrate Christmas. That’s about 100,000 more than last year. If we don’t set an overall Christmas travel record, we’re going to get close.
Nationwide, AAA expects 3 million more travelers than last year. An estimated 119.3 million people will travel 50 miles or more. This narrowly sures the previous record set in 2019 by 64,000 travelers.
Airports are expected to deal with the brunt of that movement.
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“What we are expecting, though, is an overall total record of 119 million travelers and specifically the airline engers air travel. That’s also a new record of 7.85 million. More people are flying. 2024 has been a record-breaking year for air travel in general. TSA numbers also back that up,” said Alex Diaz, AAA spokesperson.
So far Friday morning, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is calm, and travel lanes on the roads are mostly empty and free-flowing. But it’s only going to get busier throughout the day.
Here are the best and worst times to travel by car over the Christmas 2024 holiday, according to AAA:
AAA wants drivers to be safe and smart this Christmas and New Year’s. The Auto Club Group will launch its free “Tow to Go” service, which is aimed at preventing impaired driving.
The program offers AAA and non- a free tow within a 10-mile radius. AAA requests that the program be used as a last resort, yet it is accessible to those who need it. The service will be available from 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 24 to 6 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 2. Call (855) 2-TOW-2-GO or (855) 286-9246 to request a ride.
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