If you’re hitting the road for the holidays, get ready for company. Alabama Triple-A is predicting the busiest Christmas travel season on record with around one hundred and nineteen million people driving somewhere. That’s about three million more than last year. Triple-A Alabama spokesman Clay Ingram says it’s that time of year that people gear up for travel no matter what…
“Christmas is one of those holidays too, that we we have that emotional connection to,” Ingram said. “And in other words, it may be the only time of year we get to see certain family members. And you know, people are just kind of willing to sacrifice other things throughout the year, to be able to take a summer vacation and to be able to go somewhere for Christmas."
Triple-A Alabama suggests hitting the road early to avoid as much traffic as possible. After Christmas, the next big travel day is expected to be January 2nd as people head home. Clay Ingram also suggests gassing up your car before crossing state lines. Mississippi is similar to Alabama for low fuel prices. But other states run higher. It was reportedly just under three dollars a gallon last week. Ingram says the same can’t be said across state lines.
“If you're traveling out of state, most of the surrounding states have noticeably higher gas prices than Alabama does, with the exception of Mississippi, where they're they're pretty close to our price point," DeBoer observed. "But if you're going into Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, most other states, you're going to see some higher prices, so be sure you stop and fill up before you cross the state line."
Expedia released this year's Holiday Travel Outlook in time for the busy airline travel season. The report highlights Friday, December 20th, through Sunday, December 22nd, as the busiest and most expensive travel days before Christmas. The day after Christmas will yield the busiest crowds following the holiday. Frequent holiday travelers know which dates to avoid flying or driving on, but schedules often prevent getting ahead of the crowds. The Transportation Security Administration's Travel Numbers reflect this reality, as data consistently matches Expedia's findings for 2024.
Last year, for example, the Friday before Christmas saw the most travelers through TSA checkpoints, totaling close to three million. After the holiday, December 26th held the record for the most passengers screened.
