TSA warns of busy holiday travel this Labor Day weekend

(NewsNation) — United Airlines expects this Labor Day weekend to be its busiest ever and the Transportation Security Administration predicts Friday could be the most traveled day of the period with almost 3 million people expected to fly.

The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that this will be the third busiest holiday weekend of the year so far, behind only the Juneteenth weekend, which included Father’s Day, and the Presidents Day break.

TSA projects that over 14 million passengers will travel over the next few days — an 11% bump from 2022.

“Most of our holidays this year have broken the all-time record highs set in 2019,” Clay Ingram with AAA said. “We expect Labor Day this year to follow suit.”

During a press conference Friday at O’hare International Airport, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said this weekend will cap what TSA reported as the busiest travel summer ever. He said the biggest concern during the pandemic was whether airlines would stay in business at all, and this summer proved to be a successful bounceback to pre-pandemic travel.

AAA said bookings for domestic travel — flights, hotels, rental cars, and cruises — are running 4% higher than Labor Day last year. The auto club and insurance seller said international bookings are up a staggering 44% now that COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, with the top destinations being Vancouver, Rome, London, Dublin, and Paris.

On many planes this weekend, every seat is expected to be filled, concluding the busy summer.

While the FAA projects almost 50,000 flights to take off Friday, the next two days could bring a lull before Monday and Tuesday likely see crowds of travelers return.

Roadtrippers could expect to see gas prices around the same as last year. GasBuddy reported the national average for a gallon of regular at $3.80. And with inflation still impacting people around the country, these prices could put some drivers in a tough spot.

“With times as hard as they are right now, it’s kinda hard to afford gas and also buy groceries at the grocery store,” Joshua Webster, who is traveling for the Labor Day weekend, said.

Domestic flight averages are also down 11% from last year, averaging about $226 per ticket. But hotel stays in the U.S. are up 3.8%, averaging $215 per night.

Now, with beach, barbecues and other holiday plans in the forecast for many, travel experts offered simple advice for the days ahead: Have a plan.

The TSA added that it will work to maintain a standard wait time of 30 minutes and under in security lanes, but wait times could be longer in some locations. It encourages travelers to arrive earlier than normal for their flight.

The good news for travelers is that the rate of canceled flights is down about 19% from last summer, according to data from tracking service FlightAware. Still, the 1.8% cancellation rate since June 1 is a tick higher than during the same period in 2019, and flight delays are even more common than last summer.

However, Buttigieg acknowledged that the airlines have seen rough traffic days, especially related to weather. But he said the airlines are on track to be at or below the cancellation rate for the decade.

Buttigieg said the DOT is working on requiring airlines to fairly compensate passengers when they cause such travel delays. The DOT is also working on requiring airlines to get rid of junk fees.

The secretary said it’s important for passengers to know their rights, even before they travel so that they can be prepared. He said they can review their travel right on Flightrights.com.

Weather has accounted for about three-fourths of all airline delays this year, according to the FAA, but at other times the volume of flights has been too much for FAA air traffic control centers, many of which are understaffed.

Buttigieg announced that the DOT reached its goal this year, hiring 1,500 air traffic controllers to help with staffing shortages. He explained that this was a tough goal to complete as the roll requires highly skilled personnel. Air traffic controllers require as much schooling as those who go to law school.

The impact of Hurricane Idalia on flight cancellations appears to have eased. Florida and Georgia saw lots of flights canceled on Thursday but expect things to be back up to full strength Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.