4th of July travel predicted to be record-setting

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- AAA is predicting a record-setting holiday weekend of travel for the 4th of July.

"Waiting for my aunt, she is arriving from Jacksonville, and we're just going to hang out for the July 4th holiday," said Wisconsinite Harrison Hicks.

Hicks spent the morning waiting on one of the over 50 million people AAA expects to fly over the holiday weekend, which would beat the previous record of 49 million set in 2019.

AAA reports over 43 million people will be driving somewhere for Independence Day, an option Hicks says might be good for people if they're struggling with weather delays due to the ongoing Canadian wildfires.

"My sister, she's been stuck in Montreal for the past three days now because Air Canada keeps cancelling flights," explained Hicks.

If you are choosing to drive this holiday weekend, GasBuddy says it'll be about $1.30 less than it was this time last year.

AAA reports national gas price averages have stayed steady, around $3.50-$3.60 a gallon.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials are reminding drivers to take it slow, buckle up and watch for work zones.

For officials at Mitchell International Airport, they're hoping you stick with flying.

"We're approaching pre-COVID levels," said Mitchell International Public Affairs and Marketing Director Harold Mester.

He says they've already been busy and expect to be busy after the holiday as well.

"For folks to go back home, it's going to be Wednesday, maybe into Thursday," said Mester. "Wednesday is going to be quite busy but it's not anything we can't handle."

Mester says starting Saturday, they've even added a new non-stop flight.

"We launched new non-stop service to Salt Lake City on Delta Airlines, so that's daily service, so that's a great new addition, and then coming up on July 11th, Southwest is adding non-stops daily to Kansas City," explained Mester.

Mester says as travel gets back to normal, flying out of Mitchell International can help expand options there as well.

"The more travelers fly out of here for their travel, the more the airlines are going to add flights from this airport," said Mester.