METRO ATLANTA — The Memorial Day holiday weekend is here, and by most measurable standards, the expectations are for 2021 to exceed the past three years.
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Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach spent Thursday and Friday morning at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport where he saw packed Delta Airlines counters.
Delta says more than 3-million tickets have been booked from Thursday through Sunday. In 2020 there was roughly 10% of that total on Memorial Day weekend.
Gehlbach spoke to several passengers who say they are happy to be able to travel.
“This is our first time traveling since last year and going to New York for a wedding and really excited about it,” Amie Njie said.
AAA anticipates over 37 million people will be traveling this weekend-- both in the air and on the roads. That number is up 60% over Memorial Day weekend last year.
“As you can see (at the) airport, there’s a lot of people here. So many feel more comfortable traveling now,” Njie said.
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Delta says its domestic leisure travel is back to pre-pandemic levels this holiday while still lagging with business and international travelers.
Airline officials say right now, sun and mountain destinations are the most popular, including places like Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Sun Valley in Utah; Vail, Colorado and more traditional locations like Las Vegas, Miami and Orlando in Florida.
Gehlbach spoke with a local couple heading to Las Vegas for their son’s wedding.
“We flew in July last year and now going back. It’s back to normal seems...like it’s back to normal,” Wendell Wiggins said.
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However, AAA and others say most people getting away this Memorial Day weekend will do it on the roads, with traffic congestion picking up Thursday afternoon and carrying through until Monday.
Traveling by car will cost a little more in 2021 as the average gas price in Georgia is around $2.92 a gallon. In 2020, the average price for a gallon of gas this time of year was $1.74.
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