Travelers Pack Roadways, Airport on Busiest Travel Day of the Year
Back to back cars lined the roadways Wednesday afternoon with many drivers headed to their Thanksgiving destinations. Adonis James tells us he’s filling up to go to Atlanta and says he’s crossing his fingers for a smooth trip.
“Shouldn’t be too bad,” he says. “I’m a little late, a little behind everybody so it shouldn’t be too bad.”
Low gas prices are driving more people out this holiday season. Clay Ingram with AAA Alabama says more people are willing to drive to their destinations this year than in years prior.
“Our roads and highways are going to be really, really crowded,” he says. “Not just Wednesday and Sunday but pretty much for the whole week.”
And it’s not just highways that will see congestion, Phil Perry with the Montgomery Airport says all flights Wednesday were sold out.
“This year we’re up. Numbers compared to last year are up 20 percent. Some of it is because we’ve been doing a strong push for the airport. Some of it is because the economy is a little better I think.”
But wintry weather in the northeast is causing some delays.
“It’s a domino effect. Although it doesn’t look like they’re going to get every flight out, it’ll just be a little late. They’re having to reconfigure some people and rebook them in Atlanta because they’re going to miss something, folks are going to miss their connection.”
But drivers say they’ll happily put up with congestion both in the sky and on the roadways if gas prices stay low.
“It’s a lot easier on the pocketbook,” James says. “That’s the silver lining.”
The Montgomery Airport saw about 1400 passengers today. Reps predict around 32 thousand passengers will fly in and out of there this month.
