Over 119 million people to travel this holiday season

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The auto club AAA has predicted that more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and New Year's Day, which would top the previous holiday-season high set in 2019.

Airlines for America, a trade group, predicts record holiday travel. Until January 6, U.S. airlines are expected to carry 54 million passengers, percent a six percent increase from last year.

If a government shutdown starts Saturday, it likely won't affect flights or airports right away but could cause problems if it lasts a long time.

The busiest travel days will be December 22 and December 26, 27, and 29. Travel will be light on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Thanksgiving Day was the slowest travel day this year.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to screen 40 million passengers during the holidays through January 2. Most people, however, will drive-AAA says 90 percent of holiday travelers will use cars. Gas prices are similar to last year, with the average at US$3.05 per gallon.

Highway travel could take 30 percent longer than usual during the holidays, with the worst traffic expected on Sunday. Cities like Boston, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., may see the most significant delays.

Holiday air travel lasts weeks, so airports and airlines have smaller peaks than Thanksgiving but face sustained pressure. Bad weather or technical issues could cause widespread disruptions, as seen when Southwest Airlines stranded two million travelers in December 2022.

Flights are often fully booked during the holidays, making cancellations harder to manage. Budget airlines have fewer flights and no agreements with other carriers, leaving passengers with limited options for rebooking. Larger airlines like American, Delta, and United can rebook passengers on other carriers due to special agreements.

New rules from the Transportation Department now require airlines to give automatic refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights-three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights. Some airlines, however, are using these definitions to avoid giving refunds for shorter delays.

Delayed flights increase the risk of bags being lost in transit. Passengers who get separated from their bags should report it to the airline and ask what the airline will cover. Links to the customer-service plans of major U.S. airlines are at the bottom of this page.

Airline fares were up 4.7 percent in November compared with a year earlier, according to U.S. government figures. But early 2025 is a good time to start planning next year's trips, including spring breaks and summer vacations.