Even as gas prices hit a record high on May 30, Memorial Day, Americans are still expected to travel in higher numbers when compared to last year.
Regular gas prices in all states have now exceeded $4 per gallon.
In Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Hawaii, regular gas prices exceeded $5 per gallon while California registered the highest regular gas price at $6.153 per gallon.
Despite gas prices being 50 percent more expensive than last year, AAA is expecting more Memorial Day holiday travelers this time around, with 39.2 million Americans projected to travel 50 miles or more during the weekend.
This is an 8.3 percent increase over 2021 when 36.2 million people traveled away from their homes. However, the 2022 number is still lower than the 42.8 million travelers in pre-pandemic 2019.
“Based on our projections, summer travel isn’t just heating up, it will be on fire. People are overdue for a vacation and they are looking to catch up on some much-needed R&R in the coming months.”
Automobile travelers are projected to increase from 33.4 million last year to 34.9 million in 2022 while air travelers rise from 2.41 to 3.01 million.
Based on AAA booking data, the top U.S. destinations were Orlando, Seattle, Miami, Las Vegas, Anaheim, and New York. The top international destinations were Vancouver, Dublin, Paris, Rome, and London.
Meanwhile, thousands of flights have been canceled on Memorial Day weekend, disrupting travel plans for many. Carriers are blaming everything from bad weather to a lack of employees for the disruptions.
Around 4,800 flights were canceled on Friday and Saturday, with 1,100 flights getting canceled on Sunday morning and 230 flights on Monday getting canceled preemptively.
Delta Airlines canceled over 400 flights on Saturday and Sunday, with 53 more cancellations on Monday. United Airlines canceled 23 flights on Saturday while JetBlue canceled 10 flights.