Stephen Kahn leaned his shoulder into the rear door of his 2002 Volvo station wagon Thursday morning, crumpling the corner of one brightly wrapped present as he forced the door shut and nudging his 4-year-old son who was strapped into his car seat on the other side of the presents.
“Grandma, here we come,” Kahn said.
Kahn is one of 63.5 million Americans who say they are traveling 50 miles or more for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays this year, according to the AAA motor club. A modest increase is expected in the number of people traveling this year compared with last, according to the AAA’s Leisure Travel Index poll.
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“This year’s calendar is great for holiday travel,” said Kris Lathan, AAA Chicago’s director of public affairs. “Christmas and New Year’s both fall on a Sunday, creating a pair of long weekends, and this year Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s all fall between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.”
Thursday marked the first big travel day at both city airports, where an estimated 2.5 million people will pass through by year’s end, aviation officials said.
Still, about 81 percent of people traveling this year are going by car, according to the AAA.
Though fuel prices have spiked more than 26 percent since last year at this time, Lathan said gas is a small part of the travel budget when compared with hotels, lift tickets or admission to amusement parks.
As of Thursday, a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Illinois cost an average of $2.27, up from $1.80 during the same period last year, according to AAA.
With the holiday travel rush already begun, Illinois State Police recommended that motorists leave for their destinations at non-peak hours.
“When there are more people on the road, there are more people traveling at different speeds, and the chance of an incident is more likely,” said Lt. Lincoln Hampton.
Compared with last year, an estimated 300,000 more people will pass through the city’s airports over Christmas and New Year’s, said Wendy Abrams, spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Aviation.
“It’s not going to be a record-breaking holiday season, but it will be busy,” Abrams said.
Thursday was expected to be the busiest travel day at both airports, with 217,000 traveling in and out of O’Hare International Airport and 60,000 at Midway Airport, Abrams said.
Lisa Kinsella, pacing nervously Thursday outside an O’Hare ticket gate with her children, 5-month-old Caroline in a sling and 3-year-old Will in a stroller, was told by United Airlines that her family had been switched to an earlier flight.
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