FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – AAA expects Memorial Day weekend to be the busiest travel weekend in over 20 years, according to a spokesperson for the company.
“We’re projecting almost 44 million people across the country to be traveling. Specifically, in California, it’s looking at about 5.6 million,” said Julian Paredes with AAA.
This weekend people across the country, state, and Central Valley will flood highways, train stations, and airports to head out of town for Memorial Day.
In the Valley, Fresno Yosemite International Airport projects TSA to screen over 25,000 travelers through Tuesday. Many of those travelers could be seen making their way through the airport on Friday, projected to be the busiest travel day for the airport.
One person we spoke with, headed to Las Vegas for the weekend, gave a word of advice to others dealing with big crowds or long lines.
“It can be stressful. But try and stay positive because if you are negative you can just ruin it for yourself and everybody else,” said Emma Porras, a traveler from Selma.
While many are choosing to jump on a flight, AAA says most people will instead hop in their car to get to their travel destination.
“There’s been increases to all forms of transportation. But, far-and-away driving is the clear preference for Memorial Day travel. More than 85% of people are going to be hitting the road,” said Paredes.
Whether traveling by car, plane, bus, train, or anything in between, AAA asks travelers to always give themselves some extra time to deal with traffic or long security lines.
“If you are taking a flight, the general rule of thumb is getting there are two hours before your flight. You might want to think about even as much as three hours. And if you have a road trip, get out the door early. It’s possible. It’s really you want to avoid the 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. hours for the rest of the week. It’s just going to be really busy,” said Paredes.