Santa may have his flying reindeer for Christmas travel, but most Americans traveling home for the holidays are hitting the road this weekend for what experts expect may be one of the busiest holiday travel periods ever.
With most workers enjoying an extended weekend with Christmas on Monday, AAA projects 115.2 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home during the Christmas and New Year's holidays, up 2.2% from last year's travel total.
Airports are expected to be the busiest they've ever been over the Christmas and New Year's travel period, but a near record 104 million people will still drive to their holiday destinations this year, according to AAA projections.
"This year-end holiday forecast, with an additional 2.5 million travelers compared to last year, mirrors what AAA Travel has been observing throughout 2023," Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, said in the association's holiday travel forecast. "More Americans are investing in travel, despite the cost, to make memories with loved ones and experience new places."
AAA expects an estimated 2.7 million Tennesseans to travel between Dec. 23 and Jan. 1, most of them driving. Traffic along Chattanooga highways is projected to peak between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation halted all construction starting at 6 a.m. Friday, which will continue through Jan. 2 to help the traffic flow. But some lanes along Interstate 24 remain limited through much of Chattanooga, potentially causing traffic to become congested, especially at Interstate 24 and Interstate 75 near East Ridge as well as I-24 and Interstate 59 junction west of Chattanooga.
"Safety is our top priority and with so many people expected to travel Tennessee roadways during the holidays, we want to keep traffic moving and get everyone to their destinations," TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley said in an announcement of the holiday work change. "As always, please wear your seatbelt, reduce your speed, avoid distractions and move over for emergency vehicles."
(READ MORE: I-24 lane closures through the end of the year)
Workers may still be on-site in some construction zones, Eley said. Drivers convicted of speeding through work zones where workers are present face a fine of $250 to $500, plus court fees and likely higher insurance premiums.
Less turbulence
Travel over Christmas and New Year's tends to spread out over many days, so the peaks are likely to be lower than they were during the Thanksgiving holiday last month. That is making airlines and traffic officials optimistic.
But the debacle at Southwest Airlines around Christmas last year should guard against overconfidence. This week, the Transportation Department announced a settlement in which Southwest will pay $140 million for that meltdown, which stranded more than 2 million travelers.
So far this year, airlines have canceled 1.2% of U.S. flights, down from 2.1% during the same period last year. Cancellations were well below 1% during Thanksgiving, according to FlightAware.
"I don't want to jinx us, but so far 2023 has seen the lowest cancellation rate in the last five years," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday. He added, however, that winter weather "will certainly be a challenge in the next few weeks."
Canceled flights surged last year, as airlines were caught short-staffed when travel rebounded from the pandemic more quickly than expected. Since then, U.S. airlines have hired thousands of pilots, flight attendants and other workers, and the cancellation rate has come down.
Air traffic this year at Chattanooga's airport is projected to be the highest since before the pandemic, with most flights this week at or nearing their seat capacity.
"We are not anticipating any flight interruptions nor are we seeing any weather patterns that could create any issues," Albert Waterhouse, a spokesperson for the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, said in an emailed statement Friday.
Early Friday, there were less than 40 flights cancelled nationwide in the U.S. and about 400 that were delayed, according to FlightAware.
Cheaper gas
Road travel is being buoyed by cheaper gasoline prices and is projected to include the second highest number on motorists on record after 2019, when 108 million drivers hit the road for the holidays.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga gas prices fall)
As 2023 comes to a close, Chattanooga drivers are paying about the same or less for a gallon of gas than they did last holiday season. But since gas prices jumped to nearly $3.50 a gallon for regular gas in Chattanooga in July, fuel prices at the pump have dropped nearly a dollar a gallon.
Gasoline prices in Chattanooga fell to an average of $2.59 per gallon this week, according to GasBuddy's survey of 170 stations in Chattanooga. Prices in Chattanooga are 16.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 4.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.
Gasbuddy.com said the cheapest gas in Tennessee on Friday was at the B Quick Market in Dunlap, where regular unleaded gas was selling for $2.33 a gallon, and the lowest-price regular gas in Hamilton County was at the Murphy USA station in Soddy-Daisy, at $2.45 a gallon.
The national average price of diesel has fallen 9.2 cents in the past week and stands at $3.99 per gallon.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said average gas prices nationwide have dropped for 13 consecutive weeks.
"While the declines may soon come to an end as the price of oil has rebounded from recent lows, we could see a gentler 2024 at the pump for motorists," De Haan said in a report this week. "All in all, the news continues to be good in terms of fuel prices as we enter into the closing innings of 2023."
Traffic info
The latest construction activity and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras for Tennessee highways are available on the web at www.TNSmartWay.com/Traffic. Travelers can also dial 511 for statewide travel information.
— Compiled by Dave Flessner
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Vehicles travel along Interstate 24 on Wednesday.