Holiday getaway expected to grow gnarly Thursday
AAA: 107.3 million in nation will travel between Saturday and Jan. 1
California’s great holiday getaway is on, with Bay Area airports and freeways bracing for their busiest days of the season starting Thursday.
And with the economy strong, authorities are expecting more travelers, more traffic, more trips to the mechanic and more time waiting for luggage that never comes.
A record 107.3 million will be travelling by plane, train, bus and car between Saturday and Jan. 1 throughout the country, according to the Automobile Association of America: That’s up 3 percent from last year and the ninth straight year that holiday travel has increased.
“People are going to be going every which way,” said CHP spokesman Officer John Fransen. “We hope that everybody stays courteous out there on the roadways.”
San Francisco could be among the most gridlocked cities in the country, AAA warns, with trips taking twice as long as usual during peak commute hours. And the CHP is warning vacationers headed to and from Southern California to be aware of the continuing wildfires — particularly the Thomas fire along Highway 101 near Ventura — and to keep alternate routes in mind.
San Francisco International Airport, the region’s busiest airport, is forecasting Thursday as its busiest day ahead of the Christmas holiday, with about 167,000 passengers expected to fly in and out. Oakland and San Jose airport officials expect Friday to be their busiest days.
Carol Regalbuto will fly out of SFO on Saturday to Chicago to visit family for Christmas. The Oakland resident makes the trek every year but this year she has TSA Precheck and is hoping it will help her speed through security.
“I’m excited for that,” Regalbuto
said.
And if her travel plans do go awry, she added, she’s not going to stress too much.
“Sometimes the most interesting things happen when you do get delayed or you have to take a different route,” she said. “That’s when I sit at the airport bar and meet all sorts of interesting people.”
There are several storms in the forecast and parts of the Rockies, Midwest and
East Coast could see rain, snow and ice. According to Accuweather, travel hubs like Chicago; New York; Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Denver could see weather-related delays.
Ahead of the holiday rush, SFO has created a new express drop-off and pick-up area in the hourly parking garage that will let drivers bypass congested terminal roadways. That option is free for drivers who exit within 30 minutes,
said Doug Yakel, an airport spokesman.
Chris Collins has advice for her fellow holiday travelers this week when things go wrong: “Just laugh.”
The retired biochemist waited — and waited — for her bag to roll up the carousel at San Jose’s Terminal A on Wednesday afternoon after returning from an early Christmas trip to see her grandkids near Nashville. Like her “very too-tight connection” in
Chicago Tuesday night, the suitcase didn’t make it.
But on the bright side, she experienced something for the first time when the airline sent her to a Hilton for the night.
“I walked into the room and saw a conference table, a television, a couch — but no bed,” she said.
Frustrated and desperate for sleep, she noticed something on the wall and thought: “Is that a Murphy bed?”
Fresh and ready to go, the Kane family, including 10-year-old Amber and silky terrier Kiki, were the picture of optimism as they set off for Christmas at the grandparents’ houses in Atlanta. They had already made the drive from Salinas to San Jose, and Brian Kane, the patriarch of the family, was unfazed about the journey ahead — even after Kiki growled at the dog eight humans ahead of her in line.
“She’s a good traveler,” Kane insisted.
Overall air travel has increased in recent years, and where there used to be a spike around the holidays, that’s not as pronounced anymore. Security lines and ticket counters can feel extra crowded, though, because holiday travel brings out a number of people who don’t fly regularly.
“Everything goes a little slower,” San Jose airport spokeswoman Vicki Day said, adding that people should allow plenty of time to get to the airport and through security to minimize stress.
While slow security lines might dampen some spirits, locally, temperatures are expected to be in the 50s and 60s with plenty of sun and a few clouds.
And while snow lovers might be hoping for more of the white stuff up in the mountains, Lake Tahoe and the surrounding areas are expected to be mostly sunny with temperatures ranging into the 40s and even 50s in the coming days, making for clear roadways.
California’s roads aren’t the only place seeing increased car traffic this time of year. So are mechanics.
“We tend to get more cars coming in around Thanksgiving through the new year,” said Mat Kano of Kano Automotive in San Mateo. Some of that extra business is likely because people are driving longer distances over the holidays. But, Kano said, some of it is also parents nudging their grown or college-aged kids to get their cars serviced.
“We get a lot of ‘My kid’s home. Give it a once-over before they go back’ requests,” Kano said.