The worst travel day for the Christmas holidays this year

As Christmas and New Year’s approaches, San Diego’s airport will be busier than ever, but the vast majority of Southern Californians leaving the city – a record 8.7 million – will navigate congested highways during the 12-day holiday season .

The good news, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California, is that because the holiday falls midweek and extends over a longer period of time, traffic disruptions should not be as severe as other holidays.

“Fortunately, this is a holiday where the travel period is more spread out, so the risk of traffic jams is not as great as a three-day holiday,” said Marie Montgomery of the Auto Club. “But of course, any time you travel to Las Vegas, you can expect to encounter a large crowd. The sooner you start your journey, the better it is for you.”

According to the Auto Club, nearly 10 million Southern California residents will drive 50 miles or more from home between Saturday and Jan. 1. That’s a 3.5% increase from last year and 6.8% more than the pre-pandemic holiday season of 2019. Of Southern California residents leaving home, 899,000 will fly, the Auto Club said .

Montgomery said drivers benefit from the fact that commute times to work tend to be shorter during the holidays and some of those expected to drive, some leaving town for New Year’s but not Christmas, increase traffic volumes will be more scattered.

However, traffic disruptions will be unavoidable, particularly over the weekends before Christmas and New Year. And the worst day to travel? It’s this Sunday, according to INRIX, a transportation data and insights provider that works with AAA on its forecasts.

“Our advice is to avoid traveling during peak weekday commute times. “If schedules allow, leave bright and early or after the evening commute,” said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX.

For the greater San Diego area, INRIX identified the route that was most congested during the holidays. This is especially true for those traveling along Interstate 15 into Palm Springs early Friday evening. According to INRIX, drivers can expect a travel time of 3 hours and 7 minutes, which is 35% longer than a normal day.

The second-largest holiday traffic jam is expected to occur on the evening of Jan. 1 on the return trip from Palm Springs to San Diego, Montgomery said.

And the best times to go on tour? AAA says traffic congestion should be minimal on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

This also applies to those who travel to San Diego International Airport for their vacation trips, said airport spokeswoman Nicole Hall. Record numbers are also expected for the airport, which calculates passenger numbers over a slightly longer period – 18 days, starting on Thursday and ending on January 5th.

In total, airport officials predict that up to 1.3 million people will fly in and out of the airport over the 18 days. The busiest times at the airport are likely to be Friday through Monday; 26-29 December; and 2nd–5th January. During these specific travel periods, the airport expects up to 80,000 people arriving and departing daily, Hall said.

The forecast significantly exceeds passenger volumes during the same period in 2019 and represents an increase of about 5% compared to the number of travelers a year ago.

Given the expected traffic delays and ongoing construction at Terminal 1, airport officials offer the following tips:

• Reserve parking spaces in advance. There are almost 5,000 covered parking spaces available in the airport’s Terminal 1 and 2 parking plazas. Parking and valet reservations can be made on the airport’s website. Book now and save 20% with promo code HOLIDAYS. The promotion is only available for a limited time.
• Be prepared for possible delays on westbound and eastbound N. Harbor Drive due to possible slow-moving construction vehicles.
• As traffic congestion is expected due to construction work, you should arrive early. The busiest times on the roadside are 4:00 a.m. to 6:15 a.m., 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to midnight
• The airport operates a free electric shuttle called the San Diego Flyer that runs between the Old Town Transit Station and the airport. Buses run seven days a week, with an average arrival time of every 20 to 30 minutes. The first pickup is at 4:45am and the last pickup/drop-off is at 12:30pm

In addition to holiday-related delays, there is always the possibility that flights may be delayed due to unforeseen weather conditions. On Wednesday, nearly 200 flights were delayed and 56 more were canceled, mostly due to heavy fog that moved in late afternoon.

Originally published: December 19, 2024 at 5:25 pm PST