Friday will be busiest travel day

Warm-weather destinations popular with people leaving from Mitchell

The busiest holiday travel day at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport is forecast to be Friday, an airport official said Wednesday.

Florida is the top destination from Mitchell on Friday, said Harold Mester, an airport spokesman. There are 12 departures with a capacity of 2,000 passengers leaving Milwaukee for the Sunshine State on Friday.

The second-most popular destination from Milwaukee on Friday is Arizona, with six departures with total capacity of about 1,000 passengers, Mester said.

If you are spending Christmas someplace warm and returning to Wisconsin next week, things are going to be cold — really cold — when you get home.

The National Weather Service says the high temperature in Milwaukee on Tuesday is forecast to be 9 degrees. Across northern Wisconsin, high temperatures on Tuesday are expected to remain below zero.

It could warm up to 18 degrees for a high on Wednesday in Milwaukee, according to the weather service.

Mitchell will have crews working in airport parking lots to make sure travelers returning home aren’t stranded if their cars don’t start because of the prolonged cold, Mester said.

“There are a lot more dead battery calls,” when the weather turns bitterly cold, he said.

Also, all of the equipment necessary to keep the airport up and running will

be kept warm, hooked up to battery chargers or plugged into engine block heaters once the arctic air arrives, Mester said.

A check of real-time airport parking availability at Mitchell on Wednesday showed ample parking was available.

According to travel organization AAA, an estimated 6.4 million people will travel by air during the year-end holiday period from Saturday through Jan. 1. That would be a 4.1% increase and the fourth straight year of air travel growth during the holidays, AAA said.

Nationwide, AAA is estimating that 107.3 million Americans will take to planes, trains, automobiles and other modes of transportation from Saturday through Jan. 1.

“This will be the highest year-end travel volume on record and a 3.1% increase in travel volume compared with last year,” the organization said in a statement.

Year-end holiday travel has grown each year for nine years in a row, AAA said. Since 2005, total year-end holiday travel volume has grown by 21.6 million, an increase of more than 25%.

Orlando, Fla., and Anaheim, Calif., top this year’s top 10 holiday destinations based on AAA.com bookings.

“Warmer weather destinations reign supreme in winter months with Cancun, Kahului (Maui) and Montego Bay gaining in popularity as holiday spots compared with last year,” AAA said. Here is AAA’s Top 10 holiday destinations list:

1. Orlando, Fla.

2. Anaheim, Calif.

3. Cancun, Mexico

4. Honolulu

5. Kahului (Maui), Hawaii

6. Montego Bay, Jamaica

7. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

8. Miami

9. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

10. New York