RICHMOND, Va. -- We are less than a week away from Christmas, and AAA is expecting more than 115 million Americans to travel for the holidays.
In Virginia, nearly 2.85 million people will drive to their destinations, while 180,000 residents will head to the airports.
Air travel is up 4.5% from last year and 2% over 2019’s travel volume.
"We're expecting it to be the busiest end of the year travel for air travel that we've ever seen, which in turn really means for travelers, the busiest airports they've probably ever seen at the end of the year," explained Morgan Dean, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman.
But that isn't stopping travelers young and old from lining up at Richmond International Airport (RIC) Tuesday morning.
"We're heading to Hilo, Hawaii," said father and son John and Austin Swing. "This busy. We have a lot of military here."
Dean says Thursday, December 21st and Friday, December 22nd will likely be two of the most traveled days at RIC. The 30th, he says, could also be packed.
"We ain't flying those days," laughed Irene and Larry Hull, who are heading to Oregon to visit their grandchildren.
They shipped their presents beforehand, because TSA advises you not to pack wrapped gifts in your carry-on. The agency adds there's a chance they could get unwrapped during the screening process.
When booking connecting flights this holiday season, travel experts say to give yourself more time than usual.
"Build those hour to two hour layovers for wherever you might be flying through to give you as much time to get from one place to another inside that airport, no matter what's happening, delays, cancellations wise, so that you can catch that second flight," noted Dean.
Unfortunately, the Hulls will have to miss one day with their grandchildren because their flight to Denver was delayed.
"These early flights are killers," said Larry Hulll.
These travel pains, though frustrating, aren't ruining their Christmas cheer.
"Merry Christmas!," exclaimed Irene. "And I just pray that everybody has a great holiday spirit."
AAA adds there are still some chances for last minute deals on flights, but planes are going to be very full, so time is running out if you are hoping to fly for Christmas or New Years.
Something else to keep in mind, AAA expects to rescue more than 16,000 stranded drivers over the holiday period, so be sure to have an emergency cold weather kit with snacks and blankets packed in your car.
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