Memorial Day weekend kicks off expected busy summer travel season

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - Drivers out on Virginia highways and interstates during Memorial Weekend most likely saw quite a bit of bumper-to-bumper traffic. AAA Mid-Atlantic expected around 1.2 million Virginians to travel, mostly on the road, but some in the air, for the holiday weekend.

“I think for most people that were anywhere near an interstate this weekend, they saw an awful lot of traffic out there. And for the folks that were at the airport, they saw pretty good lines there as well,” said Morgan Dean, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Though the official numbers aren’t out yet for travel, Dean said AAA Mid-Atlantic feels they saw what they predicted for travel.

“Based on what I think a lot of us saw, what we were hinting at in the forecast, which is going to be a very robust travel season, kind of happened over the weekend.”

Dean said they feel this is only the start of a busy summer travel season.

“I do think that a lot of the trends leading up to Memorial Day, and the Memorial Day forecast put together, kind of show us that what we saw over the weekend could really be the tip of the iceberg. We expect that it’s going to be a very, very busy summer for travel. A lot of the airlines were saying that they had seen some of the busiest pre-bookings that they have seen in a long time for the summer season.”

Dean added that gas was around $1 more expensive per gallon for Memorial Day weekend in 2022 and with it slightly down for 2023, that could have also played a role in more drivers on the road.

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