COLORADO — As Labor Day weekend comes to a close, many people are heading home after a weekend of travel.
Travel more than doubled this year compared to 2020, with 12.6 million people taking flights from Thursday to Saturday, according to Hopper. That is about 22% more than the number of passengers in 2019 before the pandemic, according to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.
If you took a trip and are planning on heading home as the weekend wraps up there are a few things you should know to beat the rush.
Regardless of whether you're traveling in the air or on the road, it's a good idea to leave early. The sooner you can check in bags before a flight and get through security, the better.
If you're hitting the road you will want to avoid rush hour at all costs by leaving in the morning or early afternoon at the latest, especially if your commute requires you to travel on a major freeway like I-25.
If that doesn't work for you, leaving after 10 p.m. is better than traveling between 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
According to Hopper, the Denver International Airport (DIA) is the second busiest airport behind the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and just ahead of the Los Angeles International Airport.
Over 531,000 passengers are expected to fly out of DIA during Labor Day Weekend, with the busiest departing time around 11 a.m.
From Aug. 1 to Aug. 15 around 29% of flights to and from DIA were delayed while 1.9% of flights were canceled.
If you're driving back home from the holiday weekend, you will more than likely need to fill up your gas tank. Gas prices in Colorado have dropped more than 50 cents in the past 30 days, making a lighter impact on your wallet.
As of Monday morning, gas prices in El Paso County are reaching around $3.63 per gallon while prices in Pueblo County are a bit cheaper at $3.46. If you're traveling near Denver County expect to pay about $3.74 per gallon.
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