GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — You've heard it before and will probably hear it again. This year's expected holiday travel for Labor Day is breaking records with domestic travel expected to be up 9% this year when compared to 2023 according to AAA .
But there is some good news for the traveler fighting the crowded airport or the interstate. Both the price of a flight and a gallon of gas are cheaper this year compared to last Labor Day weekend.
"We see the airfare coming down for both domestic and international travel. We see it in the low single-digit percentages," according to Matthias Keller, Chief Scientist and SVP of Tech for travel search engine, Kayak.
When we look at the price at the pump, the national average of a gallon of gas last year was $3.81. Fast forward to right now and we are sitting at just about $3.50 all gallon. The news is even better as we look locally, where the Michigan state average for a gallon of gas is $3.41 (as of 4:55 am EST 08/29) according to GasBuddy.
The good news doesn't stop there, that's because Governor Gretchen Whitmer also announced this week that starting Friday, Aug. 30 at 3:00 pm and continuing until 6:00 am Tuesday, Sept. 3 96 of 161 projects statewide will have lane restrictions removed - including sidelining those orange construction barrels.
So with more people and cheaper flights and gas, what should you do if you are hitting the road this weekend? LEAVE AS EARLY AS YOU CAN!
"What we are anticipating is Thursday and Friday are going to be the busiest days, not only at the airports but also on the roads," said AAA Spokesperson Aixa Diaz. "So our advice is if you're going on a road trip over Labor Day weekend, you want to leave as early as possible on Thursday and Friday before 11 a.m."
That way you spend less time stuck in thick traffic and have more time to relax on the first day of your trip.
Speaking of your trip — Have you checked the weather yet?
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