Thousands traveling in and out of Milwaukee this Memorial Day weekend

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Many people have already started their long holiday weekend plans as experts suggest Friday will be the busiest travel day for Memorial Day weekend.

According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), on Friday alone, around 2.6 million people were expected to travel by air nationwide.

"Saturday, Sunday, Monday are going to be busy, we're looking at more than 8,000 passengers a day," said TSA Regional Spokesperson Jessica Mayle.

Mayle said Memorial Day weekend marks the start of summer travel season. Friday's recorded peak time at Mitchell International Airport was from 6-8 a.m.

Early birds Daisy and Rommel Lesigues flew into Milwaukee for the first time Friday morning to visit their niece. They said they decided to arrive at the Orlando airport extra early.

"Like four hours before our flight we were there at the airport," said Mrs. Lesigues.

Jenny Babiasz and her family were heading the other way, going to Florida for 10 days. She told CBS 58 that they normally try to avoid traveling on Memorial weekend.

"It just happened to work that they got out of school yesterday and my other granddaughter that lives in Florida got out of school yesterday, so this just happened to be the weekend that we could all get together," she said.

Colin Kinzie, who heads back home to Austin, Texas, said the days coincided for him too.

"Just the days lined up and this is the weekend that I found myself flying, I'm surprised it's not busier," he acknowledged.

Kinzie recalled missing a flight once when he was a kid and vowed to never let that happen again.

"And I never missed a flight since, so don't miss your flight, it's a pain in the butt!" Kinzie added.

TSA experts suggest always arriving at least two hours prior to the time of takeoff.

"I think people need to think, you know, not just leaving out of Milwaukee. You'll probably have a very smooth experience there, but what airport are you coming back from?" said Mayle.

An air travel consumer report released by the U.S. Department of Transportation said that although airfare remains slightly lower than last summer, it is nearly 10% higher than before the pandemic.

In addition, AAA reported that many people opted to drive to their destinations this holiday weekend, given that gas prices are cheaper than they were this time last year.