A record number of Americans are set to travel this holiday season.
AAA estimates that 115.6 million people — over a third of the U.S. — will brave the roads and skies. It’s the largest number of travelers that AAA has ever recorded since it started keeping the statistic in 2000.
The bulk of the travel will occur from Saturday to Jan. 2, with the busiest day expected to be the day after Christmas, AAA estimates.
Around 104 million of those travelers will be packing up the family car and driving to their destination, which will lead to some of the worst traffic of the year nationwide.
“Holiday cheer is at an all-time high this year, with unemployment at historically low levels, and noted improvements in both disposable income and household net worth,” said Paula Twidale, vice president of AAA Travel. “Travelers should be getting used to crowded highways and airports, as this marks the eighth straight year of new record-high travel volumes for the year-end holidays.”
WTOP’s own traffic team expects the midweek holiday to result in travelers leaving the D.C. area in phases, with the first drivers hitting the road Friday afternoon before 6 p.m.
Most drivers will crowd the interstates Saturday morning, but drivers are likely to file out of the area steadily until Christmas Eve, said WTOP traffic reporter Reada Kessler.
“With the government off on Tuesday, there’s always a chance they could leave early on Monday,” said Kessler. She guessed that many federal employees might burn a vacation day in order to get to the holiday break a little earlier.
And if you think the traffic will be the worst before the holiday, think again: AAA expects the worst time for D.C. traffic to be from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26, with delay times nearly triple what they usually would be. Only New York City is expected to have similar delays.
WTOP traffic reporter Jerry Booth said more people are expected to stay in town during the Christmas holiday than stayed during Thanksgiving. He ranks the traffic impact for Christmas well below the November holiday and even several summer holidays, such as Independence Day and Labor Day.
But he still suggests that if you are even driving a mile from home next week to check the WTOP traffic page as well as navigation apps for any issues.
If you are traveling by plane, you likewise might want to leave a little earlier for the airport.
Nearly 7 million Americans will take to the sky, and while the travel window is not as compressed as Thanksgiving, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said the weekend before Christmas is expected to see some of the biggest crowds, increasing traffic on the way to Reagan National and Dulles and increasing security lines.
And if you are flying south or to the West Coast this holiday season, beware of possible delays due to pending weather.
