COLUMBUS – Conditions have been mostly nice for travelers flying ahead of and on Christmas Day, but some naughty disruptions plagued those flying with Southwest Airlines again this year.
U.S. airlines prepared for massive waves of travelers this holiday season by hiring thousands of pilots, flight attendants and other workers in an effort to avoid the delays and cancellations that marred travel in 2022, culminating with the Southwest Airline debacle that stranded more than 2 million people.
Southwest experienced hiccups again over the weekend, canceling more than 400 flights and delaying nearly 2,700 flights.
Auto club AAA predicted more than 115 million Americans expected to journey at least 50 miles from home by New Year’s Day, a 2% increase in travel volume during the 10-day Christmas/New Year holiday period over last year.
Most of those people will drive, and they will save a bit on gasoline, compared with a year ago. The average price in Ohio Thursday morning was $2.81 per gallon, 29 cents cheaper than one year ago.
Among the 4.3 million Ohioans expected to hit the highways, the auto club says 744,484 will be from the Columbus metro area.
The AAA says, nationwide, the worst time to travel by car will be between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 23.
Almost 46,000 people are expected to fly out of John Glenn Columbus International Airport and the Rickenbacker Passenger Terminal between Dec. 23 and Jan. 1, according to AAA.
Airlines are confident they can handle the crowds, but it could come down to the weather.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says the government will be holding the airlines accountable to operate smoothly and treat passengers well if there are disruptions.