Millions of Americans are hitting the highways and preparing to take to the skies ahead of the holidays.
Here’s what you need to know before you pack your bags.
Holiday travel by plane
AAA predicts this holiday season will be the biggest ever for air travel, with 7.5 million people expected to fly between Saturday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Jan. 1. This would break the previous record of 7.3 million passengers set during the 2019 holiday season.
Thursday, Dec. 21 and Friday, Dec. 22 are expected to be the busiest days for departing flights, Hopper said.
Domestic airfares average $349 round trip, up 3% from last year, according to Hopper.
Holiday travel by plane
ABC News Photo Illustration, Hopper, AAA
According to Hopper, the cheapest days to fly are December 19th, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, while the most expensive days are December 22nd and December 26th.
United Airlines said it expects its biggest holiday travel season ever, with about 9 million passengers scheduled to fly between Dec. 21 and Jan. 8, a 12% increase from last year.
United Airlines said it expects Dec. 22 and 23 to be its busiest days for Christmas travel, and Jan. 2 for New Year’s travel.
Delta Air Lines is preparing to welcome approximately 9 million customers during the holiday travel period from Dec. 21 to Jan. 7.
Delta Air Lines said it expects peak days to be Dec. 21-22 and Dec. 26-30.
Holiday road trip
Holiday road trip
ABC News Photo Illustrations, AAA, INRIX
AAA expects 104 million people to travel over the holidays, up 1.8% from last year.
According to traffic analytics firm INRIX, the busiest days are expected to be Saturday, December 23rd, Thursday, December 28th and Saturday, December 30th.
If you’re heading out on holiday on December 23, the best time to leave is before 10 a.m. If you’re heading home the day after Christmas, INRIX says the roads are least crowded before noon.
