Even as a cyber attack on a major pipeline has created fears of a looming fuel shortage, a lot of Americans are hoping to get away for the Memorial Day weekend anyway.
AAA forecasts at least 37 million people will be hitting the highway or hopping on a plane for the upcoming holiday. That would make it a much busier travel holiday than last year, when many Americans stayed home as the pandemic was in full swing. Officials with the auto club cite the fact that a third of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, along with growing consumer confidence, for the uptick in road trips.
AAA predicts 34 million Americans will drive at least 50 miles from home between May 27 and May 31, a 52% increase over last year. It also expects close to two and a half million people will board a flight for a vacation or to visit family. That figure is nearly six times more than the number of people who flew during the 2020 Memorial Day weekend.
Even though these numbers are encouraging, keep in mind they are almost 15% lower than the travel numbers from Memorial Day 2019, before COVID brought the travel industry to a virtual standstill. Still, there are encouraging signs that travel is on the rebound. So far in May, nearly 1.5 million people have gone through U.S. airport checkpoints each day, according to the TSA.