Bay Area airports, freeways, busy as holiday getaways get underway

The long holiday weekend getaway is in full swing. Travel numbers are up compared to the same time last year, but AAA of northern California says the Labor Day weekend is actually the least busy of the major summer holiday weekends for overall travel.  

About 55,000 people are expected to pass through Mineta San Jose International Airport over the three-day holiday weekend and about 190,000 are expected for the week from Friday through the first full week of September.  

Travelers are on their way to destinations near and far with hopes for a smooth travel experience.  Lori Paisley was going back east to Ohio and Pennsylvania to visit family and said she was slightly concerned about the travel issues recently, including airline cancellations. 

"A little bit but you know everything seems to be opening up, and we are nice people and we are going to go with the flow to get where we are going," Paisley said. 

Hernan Rosas, who was going to San Bernardino in southern California, said airline cancellations were not a worry, but he was not sure what to expect on the roadway and at the airport.  

"It has not been too bad actually. We will see how it is on the plane. So far it has not been that bad just not looking forward to the heat," said Rosas. 

At San Francisco International Airport, at least a half a million people are expected to pass through between Friday and Monday.  That is expected to be down slightly from passenger traffic over the 4th of July weekend, but is still far higher than your typical day.  

"It will feel very busy at SFO this weekend," said SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel. 

As of mid-afternoon Friday, only seven flights at SFO had been canceled. The airport handles more than 1,000 flights per day.  

"Really what we are seeing is airlines over the past month or so have really adjusted their flight schedules," Yakel said.  "I think the goal amongst airlines is to run a very reliable flight schedule over the Labor Day weekend and we are certainly seeing that play out."

At Oakland International Airport, security lines were steady, but passengers were prepared. 

"We did expect some busy lines for sure. We didn't get here as early as we wished," said passenger Debroah Traverso.

AAA is not putting out specific predictions of the number of travelers expected on California’s roadways over the long holiday weekend. Overall, AAA says bookings through its travel agency are up more than 20-percent over the same time period last year which is an indicator that travel demand remains strong. 

"We have seen strong travel demand all summer long. So we are not necessarily seeing any signs of that tapering off," said Michelle Donati, a spokesperson for AAA of Northern California.  "That in conjunction with gas prices moving lower as it has this summer is likely contributing to Labor Day travel remaining very strong this year."

Airports are advising passengers to arrive early, at least two hours before domestic flights at all three Bay Area airports.  SFO recommends 3 hours for international flights.  

AAA says it expects to receive more than a half a million calls for stranded motorists nationwide over the long weekend.