AAA: Low gas prices drive record 122.4 million people traveling over winter holidays

Falling gas prices will contribute to a record-high 122.4 million Americans traveling for Christmas and New Year’s, the American Automobile Association estimated Wednesday.

The automobile owners club said that’s up 2.2% from the previous high of 119.7 million people who traveled 50 miles or more last year between Dec. 20 and Jan. 1. AAA has tracked the winter holiday travel volume since 2000.

The AAA forecast noted that gas prices are down significantly from an average of $3.04 a gallon a year ago, luring Americans to hit the roads at a higher annual rate than in recent years.

“For the first time in four years, the national average dropped below $3 a gallon this month, and prices could continue dropping as 2025 comes to a close,” AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Ragina Ali said in a statement.

The forecast predicts that 109.5 million Americans will drive to winter getaways, up 2% from 107.4 million people from last year and representing 89% of all voyagers. That’s up from an overall average annual increase of 1.4% between 2019 and 2025.

An additional 8.03 million people are expected to fly, AAA said. That’s up 2.3% from 7.85 million last year and the first time more than 8 million people have taken to the skies, but significantly lower than the 12% annual increase in air travelers that AAA estimated between 2019 and this year.

“According to AAA data, which is based on what travelers paid when they booked their holiday trips, a round-trip domestic flight is 7% more expensive this year, averaging nearly $900 a ticket,” the company said.

Finally, 4.9 million travelers will leave town by bus, train or cruise ship, up 9% from 4.49 million last year.

The estimates come after AAA projected that low gas prices and air travel issues also jacked up travel for the long Thanksgiving weekend to a record-high 81.8 million people.

The 43-day federal government shutdown that ended last month resulted in massive flight interruptions, as some baggage handlers and air traffic controllers failed to report for work.

Analysts believe the resulting restrictions on flight volume led an unknown number of people to skip booking airline tickets for the holidays.

AAA recommends that travelers with flexible schedules consider off-peak travel times to avoid the crunch.

According to transportation industry researcher INRIX, a AAA partner, the busiest days for road travel this winter will be the Dec. 19-21 weekend before Christmas and Dec. 26. The Christmas Day and New Year’s Day holidays will be the lightest traffic periods.