VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Many people are squeezing in one last trip before saying goodbye to the summer season. According to AAA, millions are expected to fly or hit the highway for Labor Day.
“It’s the last weekend of the summer,” said Lorraine Cicero-Woodson of Chesapeake, who was headed to Manhattan with her family.
Whether on the road or traveling up in the air, AAA experts expect a busy Labor Day weekend.
“We do know that nationwide – that domestic travel is going to be up 9% from where it was last year,” said Ryan Adcock, a spokesperson for AAA Tidewater.
“I'm headed to Port Canaveral, Florida," said Shanise Williams at Norfolk International Airport. "From there, I’ll be hopping onto the Disney Wish [cruise ship].”
On Thursday, many people left Hampton Roads to go to their Labor Day destination.
“We were just trying to give our daughter another trip before school starts on Tuesday,” Cicero-Woodson said.
“My nieces and nephews are old enough to want to celebrate before they go back to school," Williams said. "So, we are going to give them the back-to-school trip of their dreams.”
Several travelers said they wanted to leave early Thursday morning before the rush.
“We’ll see a lot of people that are traveling today pretty much from lunchtime on into the evening," Adcock said. "And then, the same narrative for tomorrow.”
TSA said their agency expects to screen more than 17 million people during what is expected to be the busiest Labor Day travel period on record. They plan to screen nearly three million people on Friday. A Norfolk International Airport spokesperson said while they expect the airport to be reasonably busy Friday, officials aren’t expecting any record-high levels of travel.
With the large group driving for Labor Day, Adcock said it’s best to plan.
"Have some alternatives in mind, some different routes you could potentially take so you can get to your destination," he said.
Adcock said traffic is expected to pick up on Monday as many people make their way back home. Experts said drivers should hit the road in the morning unless they’re leaving on Saturday – when the best time to travel by car is in the afternoon. Travelers returning on Sunday or Labor Day should leave as early as possible to avoid heavy traffic in the afternoon.
Following the Labor Day weekend, Norfolk International will start to see travel die down. An airport spokesperson said ORF is looking at a 10% reduction in airline seats comparing August to September with about 8% fewer flights month to month. The spokesperson said the decrease is normal for the travel industry.