United Airlines expecting record numbers of travelers for Fourth of July holiday
Air travel is expected to ramp up Wednesday at airports all around the country as people get away for the holiday.
Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport is picking up as the Fourth of July holiday closes in.
Airline officials say air travel could reach record numbers on July 3.
“This 10-day July 4 holiday we will see almost five million passengers come through our doors at United [Airlines.] That’s about 7% higher than last year. We are ready,” says Cyrus Sarkari, who works for the airline.
United says that over this holiday period, 520,000 people will fly every day for a total of 4,400 flights.
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The Transportation Security Administration reported 2.9 million travelers passed through airports last Friday, its fourth busiest day on record.
Inside Terminal C, Eddie and Natasha Luna were heading home to Hawaii after a family vacation to Spain.
“We had a flight delayed so much that we were going to miss our connecting flight in San Francisco, so we had to have them change it so we still get home tonight,” said Eddie Luna.
The family of four intentionally left before the heart of the summer travel season.
“Oh, we definitely saved money and yes somewhat intentionally, mostly financially it was the driver for going early in the summer,” he said.
Airfare is reportedly down this season, perhaps allowing for even more people to pull the trigger when it comes to booking flights.
Additionally, there was a ground stop at Newark Liberty on Monday, due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA says that this shortage is not within the tower at Newark. The issue being dealt with is at a Long Island site that handles Newark flights.
United says that some of its more popular destinations this holiday include Las Vegas, London, Cancun and Orlando.
