NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As the holiday season kicks into high gear, millions of Americans are gearing up to hit the road or take to the skies to celebrate with loved ones.
AAA's latest predictions indicate that this year's holiday season will mark the busiest ever for air travel from Saturday through Monday.
Kelsey went to the airport and met people braving the effort to get to their destination.
December 25 won't be just Christmas Day for Chuck Welch and Gloria Houghland of Nashville. They're flying to New York to also tie the knot.
"We decided the tree was the perfect place for us to get married, so Christmas morning we’re going to go down hopefully no one else will be there. And we think it’ll be perfect,” Houghland said.
According to AAA, over 115 million travelers are expected to venture 50 miles or more from home during the 10-day year-end holiday travel period.
As far as air travel, airports across the country are anticipating the highest levels of activity ever recorded during the Christmas and New Year’s travel period.
AAA projects a staggering 7.5 million air travelers this holiday season, surpassing the previous record of 7.3 million passengers set in 2019.
Despite the excitement, travelers are facing challenges such as congested airports and roadways.
Alex Zsolt is on his way to Florida.
“It is quiet, but I’ll tell you when I landed at midnight on Wednesday, I mean it was miles out on 40 coming in here, and ... it bottlenecks when you come into baggage claim so that’s a big issue there.”
Reflecting on the Thanksgiving weekend, some travelers recall being stuck on exit ramps to the airport for nearly an hour or more. While a few opted to brave the journey on foot.
In response to the expected surge in travelers, BNA (Nashville International Airport) is urging passengers to take advantage of new short-term parking options to alleviate congestion.
Visitors picking up or dropping off family and friends have the option of complimentary or reduced-rate parking in the terminal garages, with rates varying based on the duration of stay.
| 0 – 30 minutes 30 – 45 minutes 45 – 60 minutes 60 – 90 minutes 90 – 120 minutes 120+ minutes | $0
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Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
