HOUSTON – Thursday is the unofficial start of the Fourth of July weekend.
Despite the price of gas soaring and chaos at airports, travel will be extremely busy.
According to AAA, 3.1 million Texans are hitting the roads and 340,000 are flying.
“We’re not quite at pre-pandemic levels air-wise, we’re still down about 10%, but airports are packed and flights are delayed and it’s a jungle out there for consumers so you can’t travel naively like it’s going to be the good old days,” said Brian Kelly, The Points Guy.
After downsizing during the pandemic, flight delays, cancellations and staffing issues have wreaked havoc on the airline industry.
Delta Airlines is taking a drastic measure. If you’re flying Delta from July 1-4 - they’ll let you rebook your flight without paying fees or fare differences as long as it’s to and from the same cities.
“It’s not looking great this summer,” said Kelly. “The big issue here is staffing, pilot staffing, flight attendants, even the ground workers.”
Kelly said he hopes flying becomes easier as we get closer to the Fall, but for now, he encourages travelers to pack their patience.
“This summer, leave your house with a good attitude and please don’t’ take out your frustration our on frontline airline workers. They are exhausted and have a little bit of grace,” said Kelly.