AAA anticipates record-breaking travel volume for Fourth of July

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Holiday travel is picking up as we approach the Fourth of July . Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be the busiest days during this record-breaking holiday travel period.

AAA estimates 972,000 people from the Philadelphia area will travel to a destination 50 miles away or more for the holiday, a 5.2% increase compared to the same period in 2023. The vast majority — 809,000 — of those travelers are expected to drive.

AAA suggests road trippers leave at off-peak times — early in the morning or after 6 p.m. — to avoid sharing the road with those who are commuting to and from work.

Around 92,000 area residents are expected to fly, which is an 8% jump compared to last year, according to AAA. Long lines wrapped around Terminals D and E at Philadelphia International Airport early Tuesday morning but moved relatively quickly. TSA wait times were no longer than six minutes.

The Delta check-in area was also packed with people waiting in a long, winding line to get their boarding passes and drop their bags off. Daja Burley, who was heading back home to Arizona, said her patience had been tested during her travels for a family reunion in Allentown.

“When we were leaving Phoenix, we left late and then we got to Atlanta late, so we had to miss our flight. Then we had to take two separate flights because it’s such a big group of us. So two of us were left behind, now we’re here, and it’s a huge line,” Burley said.

The hundreds of weather-related delays and cancelations that overwhelmed PHL on Sunday were not an issue as of Tuesday morning. There were only five canceled flights and 25 delays.

The baggage back-up that many American Airlines passengers had to deal with on Sunday and Monday has stabilized as well, though a large number of suitcases and other items were still waiting to be retrieved outside the American Airlines baggage office Tuesday morning.

An extended ramp closure on Sunday due to lightning meant that crews could not load or unload baggage from the planes, the company said. So, many passengers whose flights were affected could not access their belongings for hours. The airline said it would deliver bags to those who could not wait at the airport.