The Fourth of July weekend is expected to bring more travelers both by road and by air.
According to AAA, 47.9 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home for this holiday weekend.
The most popular methods of travel are by car and plane — a surge in travel that the San Luis Obispo Regional Airport is seeing leading up to the holiday weekend.
“People are getting out and traveling and our numbers have kind of just exploded. We are nearly back to pre-COVID, pre-pandemic numbers," said Craig Piper, SLO County Airports Deputy Director.
Karli Klein is traveling from Phoenix to San Luis Obispo to visit family and took an early flight to avoid the crowds but said she doesn’t think she’ll have the same luck going back home.
“We are probably going to see it probably going back for sure. That’s why we wanted to travel today. We took the day off work to be able to get here early and make our flight," Klein said.
Inflation is another factor travelers are tackling this time around.
“Airfare prices are certainly up no doubt about that," said Joe Josephs, traveling from New York.
At the San Luis Obispo Airport, flights are full so airport officials are recommending people arrive at least 90 minutes prior to their flight departure.
Airport parking is full and they are recommending people try to get friends or family members to drop them off instead.
While larger airports are seeing an increased number of flight cancellations, airport officials said San Luis Obispo Airport has not been affected by this yet.
According to AAA, even with high gas prices and the state gas tax increase going into effect on July 1, the majority of travelers are getting behind the wheel and driving for this July 4th celebration.
