Travelers dealt with slowdowns at airports Sunday thanks to the arctic blast affecting parts of the country. Nicole Valdes reports.
Good evening, Jericka. Travelers dealt with slowdowns at airports like New York’s LaGuardia and Newark Airport in New Jersey. Some flights were delayed for several hours, thanks to an Arctic blast hurting those travelers coast to coast ahead of the holidays.
In Los Angeles, many travelers flying ahead of the busy holiday rush still face delays and long lines. Disruptions piled up across the country today. More than 6,000 flights were delayed, and hundreds of others were canceled.
“We always try to book their flights because then we know they’re most likely going out on time,” one traveler said.
Jason and his 13-year-old son hope to get back home to Chicago. “Which is 0 degrees. We’re really not looking forward to that,” he said.
AAA expects a record‑breaking 122 million Americans will travel for the Christmas and New Year’s break despite the tough travel year.
“I think this year, it’s been a lot more stressful,” another traveler said.
Daniella Perez says her trip to Reno today is the first of many this week. “I think people are having that anxiety to want to travel, just because everything that happened with the shutdowns and the delays. And there’s just been a lot of issues with travel,” she said.
But ticket prices are up. A round‑trip flight now costs an average of $900, a 7% jump from last year. Drivers could catch more of a break, paying under $3 a gallon for gas on average. The cheapest gas is in Oklahoma and the most expensive in Hawaii and California.
Which airport you fly out of for the holidays could make a difference in your trip, with airports and cities like Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, and L.A. being rated as the most reliable, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation.