It’s starting to feel like a hectic holiday travel season, but if the weather cooperates it might go relatively smoothly.
Because Christmas and New Year’s travel tends to be spread out over multiple days, the U.S. peak is likely to be lower than during the Thanksgiving holiday. That’s why airlines and federal officials are optimistic.
However, given the Southwest Airlines debacle last Christmas, it is important not to be overconfident. Just this week, the Department of Transportation announced the following settlement: Southwest will pay $140 million Because of that meltdown that stranded more than 2 million travelers.
So far this year, airlines have canceled 1.2% of U.S. flights, down nearly half from 2.1% a year earlier. The cancellation rate during the Thanksgiving period was well below 1%, according to FlightAware.
“I don’t want to jinx it, but so far, the cancellation rate for 2023 is the lowest it’s been in five years,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday. But he added that the winter weather “will definitely be difficult over the next few weeks”.
your travel ticketThe last two weeks of the year are peak travel times as millions of people fly, get in their cars, and drive to celebrate the season. What you need to know about navigating your trip:
Last year saw a spike in canceled flights as airlines faced staff shortages as travel recovered from the pandemic more quickly than expected. Since then, U.S. airlines have hired thousands of pilots, flight attendants and other workers, and cancellation rates have declined.
Associated Press correspondent Donna Warder reports.
Thursday, a day earlier than Friday’s expected peak, has so far been very good for most U.S. travelers.
“It was amazing to be honest. I did a standby flight, which is hard to do during the holiday week, but I succeeded on my second try. So I feel really lucky. Santa is a genuine, good person and feels like she belongs there,” said Maggie Terrill, who flew from New York City to Chicago O’Hare International Airport to spend Christmas with her family in southern Illinois. .
In Europe, some travelers were not so lucky.
strong wind from A storm named Pia Planes, trains and road traffic are disrupted in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and northern parts of the UK.
Nearly a third of flights to and from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol were canceled on Thursday, and hundreds were delayed, according to FlightAware. Denmark’s Copenhagen Airport has warned that weather conditions pose a “risk of delays and cancellations”, particularly on Thursday night. British Airways has grounded 20 flights, British broadcaster Sky News reported.
Adding to the frustration, workers at the undersea tunnel between Britain and France staged a surprise strike on Thursday. Eurostar, which operates passenger train services from London to continental Europe, announced on Thursday that it had been “forced to cancel most of its scheduled services.” Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, which operates trains carrying vehicles on the same link under the English Channel, tweeted that the service had been suspended.
After much thought Last year’s cancellations and other disruptions, Mike Arnott, a spokesman for aviation analysis firm Cirium, said European travel was also strong this year, with more people expected to travel over Christmas and the New Year. Still, around 3% of flights within Europe have been canceled and nearly 30% delayed so far in December, according to Cirium.
Globally, air travel has not fully recovered from the coronavirus pandemic, but is expected to surge compared to last year during the holiday season. Airlines sold 31% more international arrival tickets to destinations around the world from Dec. 21 to Dec. 31 compared to the same period last year, according to travel data firm ForwardKeys. This is still 13% lower than in 2019, before the pandemic.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it is creating more air traffic routes, especially along the East Coast, to keep planes operating over the holidays.
For the past year, airlines have blamed many of their delays on the FAA’s lack of air traffic controllers, which is holding up traffic. The FAA, which pressured airlines to reduce flights in the New York City area this summer and fall due to staffing shortages, is hiring and currently has 10,700 certified air traffic controllers. said.
AAA predicts that 115 million people will move more than 80 miles from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day. This is 2% higher than the car club predicted last year, but falls short of the record set in 2019.
Most of those people will be driving and will probably save a little money on gas compared to last Christmas. The national average on Wednesday was $3.08 a gallon, down 23 cents from a month ago and 6 cents from this time last year, according to AAA.
According to traffic data provider INRIX, roads will be busiest on Saturday and next Thursday, December 28th.
The Transportation Security Administration predicts the busiest days for air travel will be Thursday, Friday and New Year’s Day. The TSA expects to screen more than 2.5 million travelers each day, which is still a far cry from the record 2.9 million people screened by its agents on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
U.S. air passenger numbers have already surpassed pre-pandemic levels. TSA screened 12.3% more travelers than this time last year and 1.4% more travelers than in 2019. December’s sales were approximately 6% higher than the same month last year.
Even if cancellations remain low, flights will fill up, testing travelers’ patience and creating competition for overhead bin space to store carry-on bags.
Pauline Frommer, co-president of Frommer’s Travel Guides, said: “Airline gate agents are at a disadvantage when flights are delayed, so they gate-check far more baggage to keep flights on time. ”
Frommer advises putting a smart tag in your checked baggage so you know where it is, even if the airline won’t tell you.
Whether flying or driving, travelers should pay close attention to the weather forecast.
pacific storm Destroyed areas of Southern California Heavy rain fell on Thursday, causing roads to flood. AccuWeather forecasters say storms could hit the Pacific Northwest and Southern Plains states, including Texas, later this week, but conditions remain bright for the Northeast’s population centers and major airports. Says.
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Alexandra Olson in New York, Kelvin Chan in London and Melissa Perez Winder in Chicago contributed to this report.