PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Christmas may be in the rearview mirror, but holiday traffic is still ahead, with many people returning from their destinations.
AAA predicts December 26 will be one of the busiest travel days of the season.
“Honestly, it was the smoothest airport trip I could have ever had,” said Maximus Reyes of Burlington City, New Jersey, who flew to Philadelphia International Airport after returning visiting family in North Carolina for Christmas.
His only complaint? “It was still cold,” he said.
Little did he know he was flying when vacation travel was at its peak.
“We wondered why we had a family reunion the day after Christmas for this reason, but it's going great,” said Bob Carriker of Lafayette, Louisiana.
AAA is forecasting record travel numbers this holiday season, with 8 million people nationwide traveling to and from their vacation destinations.
“It’s the day after Christmas but I’m surprised it didn’t crash this year,” said Cherish Brown, who said her flight to the city went well.
However, as she hitchhikes into town, she risks running into traffic jams.
AAA says the worst time to drive is between noon and 5 p.m.
“Because of the way the holidays fall, with two consecutive midweek vacations, that gives a lot of people multiple days, multiple days, perhaps not only to travel to be with family and friends over the holidays , but also to take a “So people can travel multiple times during the week,” said Jana Tidwell of AAA.
The travel organization says if you can wait, it's best to hit the road Friday before 2 p.m. After that, the situation is expected to get a little dicey again on Friday evening.
About 1.3 million people in the greater Philadelphia area traveled at least 50 miles for the holiday, and they all need to return home or travel to their destination for New Year's Eve.
“Other than that, it was clear,” said Daryl Munson of North Philadelphia. “I went between A and B in no time.”
Drivers said they weren't going to let traffic interrupt their post-Christmas plans.
“No, we’re looking to have a good time,” said Dayle Johnson of Newark, Delaware.
If you are departing from PHL, call 1-800-PHL-Gate to check flight status.
The Transportation Security Administration plans to screen 40 million passengers over the holidays and through January 2.
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