JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The summer travel season is on — and even with high prices at the pump and sky-high ticket fees to fly, travelers are out there, outnumbering pre-pandemic crowds.
Frustrations are also high as flights continue to be canceled around the nation.
“The gas is expensive, and the flights delayed. What can we do?” Odlis Rodriguez told us.
According to FlightAware, more than 800 flights were canceled across the nation Monday. It comes after a chaotic weekend, with more than 1,500 domestic flights canceled Saturday and Sunday.
The travelers we spoke with at JAX, who were held up by canceled flights, said they hadn’t had an major travel nightmares. Some said they’ll stick with flying.
“Timewise, I’ll usually just pick flights over driving based on time,” one traveler told us.
“Yeah, I’d rather drive,” Songmi Keating told us. “We’re gonna drive actually to (Washington) D.C. rather than flying..”
Others would opt for the road if flying gets too chaotic — even with the higher prices for gas.
There is some relief at the pump right now. Florida prices dropped 14 cents from last week. Our average is about $4.66 per gallon -- almost a quarter less than the national average.
The Transportation Security Administration says the number of people who went through security checkpoints at airports across the U.S. broke the pandemic era record. On Sunday, more than 2.4 million people passed through checkpoints -- the most since February 2020.