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Record Year-End Travel Crowds Fill U.S. Roads and Airports

Agencies report full holiday readiness, citing REAL ID checks at security plus targeted construction pauses to ease bottlenecks.

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Overview

  • AAA projects 122.4 million travelers from Dec. 20–Jan. 1, including about 109.5 million drivers and a record 8.03 million domestic fliers.
  • Traffic analysts flag the heaviest driving today from 1–7 p.m., with post-Christmas peaks Friday–Monday (11 a.m.–8 p.m.), and lighter conditions on Christmas and New Year’s Day.
  • Airports are bracing for record traffic, with Airlines for America estimating an average 2.9 million daily passengers and the Port Authority warning of JFK construction-related delays.
  • TSA says it is fully staffed after the shutdown, expects to screen more than 44 million travelers through Jan. 4, and is enforcing REAL ID; some lanes cater to PreCheck, families and uniformed service members.
  • States and airports are taking mitigation steps, including MassDOT’s holiday construction pause, while localized storms in New England and the Bay Area and lower gas prices shape travel conditions.