Holiday travel surge heats up at RDU but travelers stay enthused; road travel could set record
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Travel experts say millions of North Carolinians will hit the road and skies this week ahead of the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays, traveling in potentially record-breaking numbers. The peak of holiday travel this year is forecast to take place between this past weekend and New Year's Day, with 3 and a half million North Carolinians expected to travel more than 50 miles.
"My wife and I aren't big travelers, big fliers, especially on the holidays. We like to stay put," said Keith Faivre of Cary, who was at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Monday to pick up his daughter who was flying in from New York.
She was one of the thousands of passengers who passed through RDU on Monday as the holiday travel surge hit its peak.
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"They've been out of the house for a while now, so it's good to have them come once a year. Especially my daughter who can't make it down here as much as she likes," Faivre said.
Alex Edwards flew into RDU as well, returning to his home state to visit family after moving to Florida.
"We've got family - I went to East Carolina, we've got family all over North Carolina. But really, the airports weren't too bad today, I saw on the news down there that it was worse yesterday," Edwards said.
At RDU, three of the four on-site parking locations are booked full online through the week, and TSA is advising passengers to build in added time to deal with longer-than-usual security lines.
For travelers leaving home for the holidays, it's a welcome chance to unplug.
"We're doing Paris. We're also doing Brussels and London in there. So my daughter's going to have her 9-year-old birthday party at the Harry Potter Museum. So just very excited about that," said Daniel Saltzberg of Durham, who's traveling to Europe with his wife and young daughters.
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It's not how the family would typically spend the holidays, but for travelers going across the state -- or an ocean -- the season's spirit is at a high.
"We've never taken a big trip like this. You know, to Europe or and it was quite fancy with the kids. So I think it's it's going to be really fun to do this. You know, a lot of family time together," he said.
Hitting The Road
On Christmas Eve, thousands of North Carolinians hit the roads to get to family and friends for the holiday. More than 3.2 million North Carolinians will take a road trip this holiday season -- topping a record previously set last year, according to AAA.
While the travel rush for most fliers typically peaks in the days before Christmas and Hanukkah, the roads are expected to see plenty of traffic across the coming days as folks travel to and from their holiday destinations by car.
On Tuesday, people who ABC11 spoke with said they were grateful to be able to share another Christmas with loved ones.
"It's awesome. We look forward to it every year. Christmas is my favorite holiday, so we look forward to spending that time," said Mark Darby, who was driving to Brunswick County.
For Darby and his wife, Portia, it's a very special Christmas. The Raleigh couple already have a daughter, but they'll be welcoming a son to the family next month.
"It's big for the family to be able to see the coming addition," Darby said.
ABC11 caught up with the Darbys off Interstate 40 on Tuesday.
"I'll be happy when we're in the house, eating some good food, laughing, having a good time," Darby said.
ABC11 also met Sophie Howell and her children.
"To have less than three hours to travel and see my parents is huge," said Howell, was was driving to Columbus County.
She left Raleigh on Tuesday to spend Christmas with family there.
"I'm 41, and I've spent one Christmas not with them," Howell said. "So this is what we always do."
This holiday season, AAA predicts that more than 90% of the people traveling will do so by car. It's expected to be a record-setting holiday with 100,000 more North Carolinians travelling than last year.
Wilmington resident Stephanie Gibson is one of them.
"It hasn't been that bad. Yesterday we went 73-74 since I didn't want to hit the holiday shopping traffic," Gibson said. "So we came back on 40 today."
Gibson was in the Triad to visit family before rushing back home to her young son ahead of Santa's arrival.
"Oh, I've got a lot of surprises for my son," Gibson said. "I can't wait for Santa to come tonight. So hopefully he likes everything in the morning that he gets."
Some good news if you're planning on hitting the roads in the coming days: There's not expected to be any bad weather in central North Carolina.
