More people expected to travel this Memorial Day weekend
MINNEAPOLIS -- If you're seeing more people on the road or at the airport, there's a good reason. More people are choosing to travel this weekend than last Memorial Day.
Some drivers took off for the long weekend early, hitting the road on Thursday. Others got out of work ahead of schedule on Friday.
"I'm headed to Madison, Wisconsin and we're just going out for the lakes and stuff," Nayely Andrade of Eagan said.
Abbey Anderson filled up before traveling to the cabin Saturday morning.
"About an hour and a half away so not too far. It's perfect and looks like it's going to be a great weekend and all my siblings, and their kids will be there," Anderson said.
AAA says more people are hitting the road this holiday weekend. Up from this time last year, and close to reaching pre-pandemic levels. When it comes to air travel, more passengers are taking flight too.
"We're headed to Virginia. Richmond, Virginia for a soccer tournament," Jessie Batchelor of Stillwater said.
"Going to go see my granddaughter graduate from high school," Patricia Shirey of Wisconsin said
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reports 40,000 passengers passed through the check points on Thursday. Similar traffic is expected Friday, matching spring break levels, up about 10% from last year. And exceeding air travel over the Memorial Day weekend in 2019.
"I feel like there's also this sense of I missed out on so much time during the pandemic and now I kind of need to make up for that a little bit," Gabrielle Ronnenberg said. She's heading to Philadelphia with her father.
"We come from a military family so Memorial Day weekend is pretty special and all it entails so it's close to our hearts," Nick Ronnenberg said.
The airport recommends getting there two hours before a flight. It's a good idea to check security wait times online before you go. MSP expects air travel to decrease tomorrow.
Hitting the road should hurt wallets a little less this year, compared to last year. Minnesota drivers are paying roughly $3.50 per gallon fore regular gas, compared to $4.22 last summer.