ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Independence Day travel rush has begun. AAA projects 72.2 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home now through Sunday, July 5, for the country’s 250th birthday.
Some travelers are heading to large Fourth of July celebrations in Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, D.C., to celebrate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Others plan to spend time with family.
The Fourth of July travel rush comes as parts of the U.S., including the Rochester region, are under heat warnings. News10NBC has issued a Yellow Alert through Friday as we track temperatures in the 90s, with a heat index that could exceed 100 at times. See our latest forecast here. Here’s what to know if you’re traveling:
Travel at the Rochester airport
AAA projects that 5.85 million Americans will fly for the holiday weekend. That would be a slight increase from last year. News10NBC’s Kristi Blake was at the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport on Wednesday morning and saw lines moving smoothly. Several flights left early in the morning to D.C., Chicago, and New York City, which are under excessive heat advisories.
One family says they’re heading to Turks and Caicos in the Atlantic Ocean for vacation, which is forecasted to be less hot and less humid than what Rochester’s dealing with.
“It’s way less humid, and it’s going to be nice that there’s going to be like oceans and pools open for us to swim in, so that it just being consistently hot,” one family member said.
As News10NBC has covered, the high fuel prices due to the war with Iran have led to high prices for plane tickets. AAA says the average round-trip ticket for a domestic flight costs $800. Elizabeth Carey, AAA’s director of public relations, says people are choosing to travel this summer despite the high prices.
“It’s not a huge jump. It does show that people continue to travel, especially with the higher gas prices and the higher costs of travel on groceries and everything else that we’re paying for. People are prioritizing travel, and the America 250 celebration is definitely driving travel,” she said.
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