DFW Airport expects 1.5 million travelers for July 4 week

Dallas is among the cities with the highest demand for rental cars this holiday week as millions are set to board flights or hit the road to travel for the long weekend.

Why it matters: Prepare for heavy traffic on the road and at airports as a record number of people travel for Independence Day.

• About 5.6 million Texans are expected to fly or drive this week, a 5% increase from last year.

Zoom in: An estimated 1.5 million travelers are expected to pass through DFW Airport between Wednesday and Monday — a 5.5% increase over the same period last year.

• The weekend is expected to be the busiest with about 270,000 passengers a day, according to airport projections .

The big picture: Nationwide, almost 71 million people are expected to travel more than 50 miles this week — about 5.7 million more than during the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, per AAA .

• Air travel for July 4 week is up 7% over last year and 12% over 2019.

Context: Gas prices are lower and airfares are down 6% since last summer.

Zoom out: Travelers from DFW Airport are most likely to go to Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City and Cancun, Mexico, according to airport officials.

• Nationwide, the top travel destinations are Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, per AAA.

The intrigue: Texas was named the top state for road trips, in part because the state has more than 9,500 miles of scenic byways, per WalletHub .

• The state also is the top in the country for lodging and restaurants per capita. Plus, Texas has the second-cheapest hotel room prices within a 10-mile radius of city centers.

The bottom line: Allow extra time to get where you're going.