Millions of Floridians expected to travel for Memorial Day weekend

Busiest Memorial Day weekend planned, AAA says

ORLANDO, Fla. – If you plan on taking a vacation this Memorial Day weekend, it’s going to be busy.

“This weekend we are expecting the busiest Memorial Day on record,” said Mark Jenkins with AAA.

AAA predicts 2.4 million Floridians will travel at least 50 miles or more, which is 172,000 more compared to last year and 2019.

“Back in 2020, we saw travel numbers plummet. As you can imagine a lot of folks were staying home. Those numbers have come back, and people have regained confidence in traveling again,” Jenkins explained.

Jenkins said about 2.1 million Floridians will drive and 208,000 are forecast to fly.

News 6 was at Orlando International Airport this week where officials are expecting 1.1 million passengers to travel through during the holiday weekend until May 31.

“For those going to the airport, you want to arrive at least 3 hours before your flight to make sure you have enough time to get through security,” Jenkins said.

And for those wondering about gas prices, get ready to pay just a bit more at the pump.

In Florida, the average for regular is around $3.38 a gallon.

“We saw a little bit of an uptick here this week but not by a significant margin that is likely to stop people from taking a travel,” Jenkins said.

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About the Author

Ezzy Castro is a multimedia journalist on News 6's morning team who has a passion for telling the stories of the people in the Central Florida community. Ezzy worked at WFOR CBS4 in South Florida and KBMT in Beaumont, Texas, where she covered Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Being from Miami, Ezzy loves Cuban coffee and croquetas!

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