FILE - Vehicles drive on the Capital Beltway, Interstate 495 ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, May 27, 2022, in McLean, Virginia. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) WASHINGTON - For those with travel plans over the next few months, brace yourself: AAA says Memorial Day weekend is expected to be one of the busiest in years and is a sign of what’s to come this summer.An estimated 42.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day weekend, a 7% increase over 2022, according to a new forecast released by AAA on Monday.
Some 2.7 million more people will travel for the unofficial start of summer in 2023 compared to last year, the company said.AAA defines the Memorial Day holiday travel period as Thursday, May 25 to Monday, May 29 and bases its estimates on data obtained from over 50,000 U.S.
households each month. "This is expected to be the third-busiest Memorial Day weekend since 2000, when AAA started tracking holiday travel," Paula Twidale, AAA Travel’s senior vice president, said in a statement.
At airports, it could be even more noticeable with nearly 3.4 million travelers expected to fly to their destinations this Memorial Day – an increase of 11% over last year, according to AAA."More Americans are planning trips and booking them earlier, despite inflation," Twidale added. "This summer travel season could be one for the record books, especially at airports." RELATED: Yosemite National Park closes several campgrounds amid flooding forecastAir travel over the holiday weekend is projected to exceed pre-pandemic levels, with 170,000 more passengers – or 5.4% more – than in 2019, the company said.