Millions of travelers are set to take flight this weekend ahead of Independence Day after a week of turbulent conditions that led to thousands of delays and cancellations.
Experts expect the bulk of air travel to take place this weekend into next Tuesday with the busiest day on Friday, when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to screen 2.8 million passengers.
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Overall, TSA projects that it will screen around 17.7 million passengers from June 29 through July 5. Friday’s projected passenger numbers would make it the busiest day on record.
But the pattern of cancellations and delays stemming from harsh weather conditions and wildfire smoke could stretch into the weekend and hamper travel plans for thousands.
Difficult weather conditions earlier this week terminated or delayed thousands of flights along the East Coast. More than 4,000 domestic and international U.S. flights were canceled on Tuesday and Wednesday.
From Monday through Wednesday, more than 24,000 flights were delayed, according to FlightAware.
The disruptions stretched into their fifth straight day on Thursday, where more than 8,000 flights were delayed and 767 were canceled, FlightAware data shows.
Where air traffic is heaviest
Airports in New York, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C. were among the transit points experiencing the most delays and cancellations on Thursday, and more than 500 flights were delayed at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport alone, according to the data.
Meanwhile, wildfire smoke from a spate of Canadian wildfires has created air quality concerns in cities throughout the country. And the effects of the wildfire smoke, which has already led to cancellations, could snowball into the weekend and further impact holiday travel.
Flight disruptions stretch into fifth day
“Several airports have grounded flights already this week due to the wildfire smoke from Canada. If these conditions continue or worsen, we could see flights impacted throughout the holiday weekend as well,” Lindsay Schwimer, consumer travel expert at Hopper, told The Hill.
“With high volumes of passengers expected to travel over the holiday weekend, any further delays or cancellations will have an even stronger ripple effect on travel disruptions across the country,” Schwimer added.
Hopper’s estimate puts the total number of travelers higher than the TSA projection at around 24 million, with around 3.7 million passengers each day. Return flights will be busiest on July 5, when Hopper expects 3.5 million people to return home.
The travel site is predicting that airports in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver and Los Angeles will be the busiest.
How to avoid an airport nightmare
Still those traveling by air and expecting potential chaos have options to prepare, Hopper’s Schwimer said. Travelers might consider adding a buffer day to their plans or schedule their trip around the earliest flights of the day.
But Hopper recommends if a person is already at the airport when their flight is canceled, immediately head to customer service and call an airline representative while in line.
Flight disruptions stretch into fifth day
And Christie Hudson, head of public relations for the travel website Expedia, echoed that preparation during the busy holiday season is key.
“Bottom line, it never hurts to be prepared for disruptions or delays during the busiest travel weekend of the summer,” she said. “Especially with some of the factors we’re seeing like wildfire smoke creating uncontrollable conditions.”
Plan for traffic jams
Meanwhile, record travel is also expected on the ground over the weekend, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). The organization is projecting that 43.2 million Americans will cover 50 miles or more by car — a 2.4 percent increase over last year.
“We’ve never projected travel numbers this high for Independence Day weekend,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, said in a press release. “What this tells us is that despite inventory being limited and some prices 50% higher, consumers are not cutting back on travel this summer.”
AAA data shows that gas prices heading into the major travel weekend ticked down to around $3.54 per gallon.