JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — AAA is predicting record travel this holiday season, with more than 122 million Americans expected to hit the road, skies, or even seas over Christmas and New Year’s, and there was no shortage of travelers taking to the skies on Christmas Eve at Jacksonville International Airport.
But even with the hustle and bustle, things were smooth sailing for the most part.
“I travel a lot in the summer to go to festivals, and this was much easier, much quicker. There was absolutely no one in front of me in line at security,” said Ronda Carman, who flew in on Christmas Eve from Baltimore.
The lack of line and delays made Carmen’s trip a piece of fruit cake.
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She made the trip down to visit her sister and nephew for the first time in many years.
“This is the first time in a long time we’ve gotten together. Gonna meet my second great nephew for the first time… And he’s ten," said Carman.
It was all also a day of firsts for J’fran Chamorro, who set out to fly all the way to Spain with his family for the holidays.
It’s his first time making the trip to visit his grandparents at their home.
“It’s going to be a fun time,” said Chamorro.
While most flights may have been on time, or even early, all of the main airport parking lots and garages were at or near capacity on and off all day Wednesday.
It comes as no surprise, given that AAA is predicting this holiday travel season to break records for the second year in a row.
The vast majority of the 122.2 million travelers will be hitting the road, but air travel is setting a record of its own.
The number of Americans flying to their destination is expected to surpass 8 million for the first time.
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Brooke Smith and her partner, Taylor Goranson, were on their way to catch a flight to Maryland to see Brooke’s family when we ran into them.
She said it was the allure of the ticket prices that enticed the couple to travel on Christmas Eve.
“I was stressed out about it at first. I thought it would be more expensive, but it wasn’t, and I mean, it’s not that stressful here right now. Honestly, probably one of the better experiences I’ve had in the airport,” said Smith.
Francis and Caroline Spinola decided to go all out for their trip down from Detroit, sporting checkered green and red overalls.
“It was just something fun to do,” said Francis.
Christmas antics aside, they said this will be a special holiday for their family, with a gathering of 30 relatives getting together for the first time in five years.
But there’s one person they’re looking forward to seeing the most.
“My daughter. Seeing my daughter. Seeing my daughter and family,” said Spinola.Year’s
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