LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — As travelers take to Blue Grass Airport to start their Memorial Day weekend, officials at the airport say they are still seeing a slight decrease in travel numbers in 2022.
According to a recent AAA survey, at least 563,000 Kentuckians are expected to travel at least 50 miles or more this weekend.
"I'm actually surprised that there aren't that many people here since it's Memorial Day weekend," said airport traveler Grace Rahman.
Airport personnel reports even though Memorial Day weekend remains one of the busiest travel times of the year, traffic is still down about 15 percent from 2019.
They say this is partially due to fewer aircrafts being available as airlines continue to fight staffing shortages.
But despite rising gas prices, road travel is expected to spike during the unofficial start of the summer.
"We'll be up about eight percent as opposed to last year," said Lori Weaver Hawkins with AAA Bluegrass. "In fact, nationwide we are looking at about 39 million people."
