A look at this year’s Labor Day travel stats

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - As we know, Labor Day is a particularly busy time of the year for traveling.

Travel experts predicted a chaotic holiday weekend for traveling, for both those flying to their destinations and those packing up the car to hit the road.

AAA, which keeps data for flights, hotels, rental cars and cruises, shows that Labor Day weekend travel is up over the past year. Experts report around 148 million people traveled for the holiday. This year’s holiday weekends are set to outdo even pre-pandemic holiday travel.

Domestic bookings are up 4% and international bookings are up 44%. For those not booking flights and taking road trips instead, major travel routes were about 50% busier than normal.

Shreveport Regional officials say Labor Day always shows an increase of a few hundred people flying in and out of the airport.

“Labor Day is the unofficial end to the summer travel season here at the airport, and many of our flights are at or near capacity. Several of them are already sold out,” said Mark Crawford, Shreveport Regional Airport director. “If you are trying to come home on Monday, those are, those flights are almost full as well. Fridays and Mondays of Labor Day weekend are typically the busiest.”

AAA reports the same: The busiest day of travel is Labor Day, with roadways being extra busy from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.

“One thing we always wanna remind people is to get to the airport early anytime, but especially on a busier holiday weekend,” Crawford reminded travelers.

See the Transportation Security Administration’s suggestions here.

For more stats, visit AAA’s site.

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