The holiday travel rush is upon us. The Auto Club of Southern California (AAA) is forecasting that from Saturday through Jan.1, nearly 10 million people in Southern California will travel 50 miles or more — a slight increase from last year.
"The reason why we’re anticipating a record number of travelers this holiday season is because we’ve seen growth in travel all year long," said Doug Shupe, spokesperson for the Auto Club of Southern California. "Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving — all at either record or near record volumes. What that tells us is people just feel more comfortable to travel again."
San Diego International Airport is busy too. Airport officials are anticipating more than 700,000 people will arrive and depart through Jan. 1. Dec. 23 and Dec. 30 are expected to be the busiest days, with around 80,000 people traveling through the airport each of those days.
With construction underway near Terminal 1, be sure to arrive early, and if parking at the airport, try reserving a spot online.
Why it matters
The Auto Club of Southern California predicts most people will get to their holiday destinations by car. A storm — anticipated to bring one to two inches of rain to San Diego County could complicate travel.
"The rain really doesn't come until Thursday night and early Friday morning when most of us are asleep and not traveling," said Alex Tardy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "So if you must travel on Thursday or Friday, take off Thursday morning."
Tardy said a flood watch has been issued for coastal and inland valley areas.
By the numbers
115.2 million people nationwide will travel at least 50 miles.
9.5 million people in Southern California will travel at least 50 miles. Here are the breakdowns for Southern California by mode of travel:
- 8.3 million people by car.
- 829,000 people by air.
- 286,000 people by public transit or boat.
