AAA expert warns of travel troubles ahead of Fourth of July

WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) — The Fourth of July is less than one week away and many people are traveling to and from the Ocean State for holiday festivities.

Mark Schieldrop, a spokesperson for AAA Northeast said, “For the Fourth of July, it is a big travel week and we are expecting record breaking travel numbers. More Americans are going to be traveling since 2019.”

This goes for both air and road travelers. At T.F. Green International Airport, travelers shared their flying experiences leading up to the holiday.

“It was a pretty smooth flight — it was a little bit crowded coming out of the Atlanta airport but overall pretty normal,” said George Izard, traveling from Atlanta.

While some flights were smooth, others ran into issues.

“We had some crazy afternoons schedules and mishaps. We thought our flight was delayed, then it was possibly coming in at 12 o’clock at night, then all of a sudden a text message came through that oh, no, everything is back on the original schedule, so we rushed here,” said Kirsten Bittner, traveling from Charleston.

The troubles of their travels were well worth it when Kirsten’s daughter saw her grandmother waiting for them dressed in a unicorn costume.

While the people who spoke to ABC 6 News Wednesday flew domestically, most Americans will be traveling out of the country for the Fourth of July, with the demand skyrocketing past what AAA is used to.

“Over 400% over last year for international travel — Americans spent a lot of money on stuff and we took the great American road trip last year, but this year, folks seem really eager to explore the world,” said Schieldrop.

AAA recommended travelers devote extra time on their journey to account for traffic there could be along the way. Most importantly, don’t forget to pack your patience.