4th July travel news - live: Airport delays reported already as record getaway begins

The upcoming Fourth of July holiday weekend is expected to be the busiest travel period since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from AAA.

The organisation expects 43 million Americans to take to the nation's roads and highways over the weekend, which accounts for a 5 per cent jump over the same time period in 2019. After more than a year inside, it appears that the road trip is back, and back in force.

The downside - aside from traffic and the inevitable accidents - is that gas prices are also skyrocketing. According to AAA, the prices will be the highest over the weekend since the same time period in 2014. The current national average is $3.09.

Airline experts have also said they expect to see more passengers on planes over the weekend than at any other point since the beginning of the pandemic. Destinations like Miami, Orlando and Las Vegas are among the most popular for travelers, while locales like the Caribbean and Mexico top the list for Americans traveling outside the US. The weekend’s busiest airports are expected to be Chicago O’Hare International, Los Angeles International, and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airports. Between 7 and 8pm on Friday, 21,000 people are scheduled to depart from O’Hare.

A spokesperson for American Airlines told ABC News that it expected to run almost 5,500 daily flight from Thursday to Monday, with Thursday and Friday projected to be the busiest days. Southwest is offering expanded overtime pay for employees willing to work extra hours over the weekend to help prevent delays and flight cancellations. Long lines have already been reported at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.