Holiday Travel Problems

By Trey Duff

Traveling during the holiday season is always a difficult time to get in and out of airports, and has also always caused major traffic problems on the roadways. The holiday season includes Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year's, which are all within roughly one month of each other. Many people will be traveling to be with their families and also traveling back home after. A survey run by IPX 1031 shows that two out of three Americans plan on traveling in the 2023 holiday season. That is over 221 million Americans that will be on the roads or in the airports. This number is enormous compared to 2010, when the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) expected to screen 21 million people.  With all these people traveling, traffic, cancellations, and delays are almost guaranteed to happen just about everywhere. 

On average, thirty-five percent of all Americans who are flying will experience a delay or cancellation of some configuration. Luckily, the two closest major airports to Bowling Green are Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) and Nashville International Airport (BNA). Neither of these airports were named in the top fifty worst airports for delays and cancellations according to an article written by Forbes using data from the previous ten years gathered by TSA. 

Traveling will not only be difficult when going to family but also when going back home. Airports are expected to be just as crowded for the days following these major holidays. With only one of the holidays in the season checked off the list, flying delays have already surpassed one thousand accounts; this number will only rise for the last four holidays left in the season. This Thanksgiving alone, TSA has already set a new record for the last 20 years for the amount of people screened in one day with 2.9 million people screened and over 2 million for multiple days before and after. 

Not only will it be difficult to travel by air but it can also be dangerous to drive with an average of 119 car crash fatalities per day during the holidays. Trying to drive during the holidays will be no easier than dealing with the airports and all the commotion that comes with it. AAA (American Automobile Association) has predicted over 49 million people to be driving to families or friends for the holidays. This has made travel by car estimated to take up to 80% longer to get to certain destinations. This is especially true for people from Bowling Green trying to get to Nashville who will have to use I-65. It is not a problem until you get to Tennessee's state line, where the interstate switches from three lanes to two, causing major traffic and being a general safety hazard. This major influx of people on the roads combined with the cold weather will cause accidents such as cars losing traction, or fallen debris that can cause drivers to swerve or get flat tires. It is crucial to be very cautious when driving during the holiday season because accidents are prone to happen.