Travelers returning home from Memorial Day weekend faced the usual holiday chaos of delays and cancellations on Monday.
Severe weather at both the start and end of the long weekend caused disruptions for many. While some travelers managed to avoid significant issues, others were less fortunate.
“It’s all been pretty easy. I flew out Wednesday evening without any problems. Today, I had an hour delay, but it wasn’t too bad,” said Avery Ozimpk, a Manhattan resident.
However, for others, flight delays resulted in significant changes to their plans.
“I missed my ride, so now I have to take an Uber,” said Skyler Shaw from the Bronx.
New Jersey resident Oluwole Adeyomoye expressed his frustration: “I planned to get back early and enjoy my Memorial Day, but now I have to prepare for work tomorrow and just get some rest.”
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported that five of its top ten travel days occurred in the past two weeks. Friday set a record as the busiest day in the TSA’s 22-year history, with 2.95 million passengers screened.
Despite the frustrations of waiting, some travelers found silver linings. “It’s cool. Just hanging out with my girl for the last bit of time I’ve got. She lives in Atlanta, and I live in Chicago,” said Isaiah Baldwin. “It’s actually worked out pretty good. We get a little more time together.”
AAA projected that 43.8 million people would travel 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day weekend. If accurate, this would mark the second-highest Memorial Day travel volume since AAA began tracking such data.