WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Holiday travel leads to driving headaches

Holiday travel leads to driving headaches

By David Spunt - bio | email

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - It is the busiest travel day of the year as drivers and fliers headed in and out of Baton Rouge to visit family and friends for Thanksgiving. Travel experts say this year is no exception when it comes to crowds.

Wednesday afternoon, lines on the highway were long, but for fliers like Marvin Henderson, the airport was very low-key.

"I didn't have any issues at all everything was fast an easy," Henderson says.

Henderson says he makes frequent trips to Baton Rouge, but this year, he says the Swine Flu was on the minds of many fellow travelers.

"I noticed an awful lot of that antibacterial gel and those items," he says.

National figures show most people are driving instead of flying, because times are tough, but experts like Tom Pollock with AAA says his numbers show positive travel results.

"It's more people having confidence in the economy and we're seeing travel up by 1.2 percent which is a good sign," he says.

He says it's after Thanksgiving when travel can get just as hectic. That's why Pollock suggests traveling during "non-traditional times. You'll see a slight increase on Saturday night, but Sunday is when it will really take place," he adds.

AAA estimates that 2.3 million Americans will fly this holiday weekend. That is a 62 percent drop from nine years ago.