SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — While severe weather continues to cause air- traffic delays and flight cancellations nationally, San Diego International Airport is prepared for a busy weekend for holiday travel.
AAA projects 50.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Independence Day weekend, setting a new record for the holiday.
For 16-month-old Eden Kim, it’s walking around the airport pushing his stroller that makes the time go by faster, especially when your parents Jocelyn and Jonathan arrived for your flight several hours early.
Jocelyn Kim says, “Travel has been a little crazier than anticipated. The airport is really busy on our way here but it’s been fun.”
And it has been busier, according to the San Diego International Airport, they’re expecting to see more than 300,000 travelers coming through the airport this Fourth of July holiday.
That’s about a 2.6% increase in passenger volume compared to last year.
Tom Noller and his family of 10 are visiting from Denver. He says the extra craziness at the airport was worth the sunshine San Diego is known for.
“We wanted nice weather and it was pleasant not too hot. It was a little more challenging than expected but everything went pretty well,” said Noller.
And when all is said and done, Kim says she’s looking forward to spending the holiday back at home in the Bay area.
She says, “I think we'll want to go see fireworks in the area - but not sure he'll make it up that late. We'll see.”
Earlier this week, the Automobile Club of Southern California predicted that a near-record 3.4 million Southern California residents are expected to travel for the Fourth of July holiday period, a 4.4% increase from last year and just 1% below the all-time high set in 2019.
According to the Auto Club, roughly 2.7 million Southern Californians are expected to travel by automobile over the holiday, with 517,000 traveling by air and 253,000 relying on some other means, such as bus, train or cruise.
With the Fourth of July holiday falling on a Tuesday, the Auto Club defined the holiday travel period as beginning Friday and ending on July 4.
For Southern California travelers, the top destinations are expected to be Las Vegas, San Diego, the Central Coast, Mexico and the Grand Canyon.
According to the traffic-analytics firm INRIX, the worst traffic congestion over the holiday period in Southern California is expected to occur Sunday evening on the 15 Freeway heading toward Las Vegas. The company estimated that the usual four-hour drive is likely to take six hours during that peak travel period.
Auto Club officials noted that gas prices are about $1.50 per gallon lower in Southern California that they were last year, but the average price is still at the second-highest level ever for the Fourth of July period.
