Independence Day Weekend travel expected to break records

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.- As the holiday weekend comes to an end, travelers are filling highways and airports across America.

According to AAA… Nearly 71 million people were expected to travel over the July 4th weekend.

Today was expected to have the highest number of travelers… With more than 3 million people potentially being screened at airports across the country.

Garrison Everett was traveling from Atlanta for a film and broadcast teachers conference here in Springfield and said he hasn’t ran into any bumps along the road.

“Honestly, not as bad as I thought it was going to be coming from Atlanta. They kind of operate like, well, it looks terrifying from the outside, but the security line just kind of kept moving,” Everett said, “And then I got to my gate and still had like an hour and a half to spare.”

Milana Taylor-Turnbough flew out of SGF late in the week and had a similar experience.

“We did fly out of here on Friday and that was quick. We had carry on luggage, so security process was easy and yes, getting there was fine as well,” Taylor-Turnbough said.

So far, airlines have seen about 3,000 fewer cancellations compared to last year. Taylor-Turnbough says that she’s had issues in the past with airline travel.

‘It wasn’t today, but we saw before, we actually had we flew out with United and there was a significant delay,” she said. “I don’t know why, but we almost missed the flight just because of the, um, I guess there were a lot of folks who had issues either getting new flights or flight was delayed. So we actually ran into some problems there.”

AAA projected nearly 6 million people flew to their holiday destinations and another 60 million hit the highway.

While Springfields airport is on the smaller side, flyers said to use your time wisely.

“Get to the airport early. That’s the biggest thing. Uh, but otherwise, not so much. Trying not to stress,” Everett said.

“Well, if you have checked luggage, definitely use the two- or three-hour window to get here. Carry-on luggage, it’s pretty easy. Even if you don’t have precheck, you can get right through security,” Taylor-Turnbough added.

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