“American Travelers Prepare for One of the Busiest Memorial Day Weekends Ever”

Tens of millions of Americans like Monica Castro, heading from LaGuardia Airport to Atlanta, Georgia, are already preparing to travel on Memorial Day weekend, which marks the unofficial start of summer.

-How do you do the whole process? Are you coming early to the airport?

“Oh no, yes, like two hours before, for whatever reason, I stayed with the airline, I don’t want to stay, of course, that’s why I come earlier,” Castro said.

According to Ginny Elliott, Delta’s vice president of Airport Operations, this year promises to be one of the busiest ever.

“We expect 2.8 million customers during these five days of vacation, which is 17% more than last year at this time,” Elliott said.

The triple-A (AAA) organization also said it will be the “third busiest Memorial Day weekend” in more than two decades. 42.3 million people across the country are expected to travel, a figure that will exceed the pre-pandemic figure, as the demand for flights has skyrocketed.

“Well, we bought the tickets in advance so they are not so expensive,” said Raúl Cruz, another traveler.

In addition, the AAA points out that the cost of flying to some of the main tourist destinations is significantly higher, in some cases 40% more than in 2022.

“Many people want to travel because remember that in the Covid there was no one who was traveling, now that things are more ‘safe’, we have a very high volume of passengers to travel,” said Lidia Ramírez, customer service agent, Delta .

Long lines at airports can be frustrating for passengers, and to avoid these situations, travel experts advise the following:

“Come early, come to the airport with a clear head, don’t be afraid and we are here to serve you,” said Delta’s Michael Barlett.

The AAA booking data shows that for the Memorial Day weekend, tourist spots such as Orlando, New York and Las Vegas are the main domestic destinations, and European cities such as Rome and Paris, among the most popular international destinations.