Holiday travel rush hits full swing from the air to the ground
Friday marks another busy travel day across the country as families head home and make plans to ring in the New Year.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Friday is anticipated to be one of the busiest travel days of the winter holiday season at Fresno Yosemite International Airport, while roadways are also expected to be packed.
"A lot of traffic from the Bay Area, going down south, and Los Angeles area, traffic going back North," said California Highway Patrol Officer Gregorio Rodriguez.
Sisters Rawan and Maryam are already feeling the impacts of the airport chaos.
"We were headed to Dubai, our first flight is to Seattle, and it was supposed to be 10:20. But it got to delayed to, I think right now like 12:30. So, we're just waiting," said Rawan Sultan and Maryam Ebeid.
Their group of three would turn into two after their mom wasn't be able to make their emergency passport appointment during their layover.
Experts at Fresno Yosemite International Airport say that Friday was just the beginning of the rush.
"So far, the busiest day during the winter travel season has been Saturday, December 21st, where over 5,800 passengers traveled through Fresno," explained Vikkie Calderon with Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
"We are seeing some other busier days such as today is expected to be a busy day, Friday the 27th and then also Sunday, December 29th, and Monday December 30th."
Calderon says at the airport, they expect over 70,000 total passengers to travel through during this time.
But whether you are hitting the highway or the air, officials say to be patient and safe, as winter storms may impact your journey.
"We are kind of in-between weather systems right now, fog is probably our biggest detriment right now, especially during the season, slow down, slow down, slow down," said Officer Rodriguez.
"There have been some weather impacts here at the Fresno airport during the winter season, not just here in Fresno, but at other airports nationwide, that does have an affect on flights here in Fresno and so we encourage passengers to check with their airline before leaving for the airport," said Calderon.
Calderon also says some of their parking lots are also at, or nearing capacity, so don't just account for time to go through TSA, but also to find parking.
For those driving to their destinations, law enforcement is warning drivers about the fog they may encounter as they hit the roads.
"We are kind of in-between weather systems right now, fog is probably our biggest detriment right now, especially during the season, slow down, slow down, slow down," explained California Highway Patrol Officer Gregorio Rodriguez.
The CHP also recommends using your low beams or fog lights.
If you depend on the automatic headlight settings, you may need to override it and manually switch to low beams.
The setting for low beams looks like a letter D with lines slanted down.
If you have fog lights, it is a similar symbol but with a wavy line through the slanted lines.
While driving, if you find you can't see the road, the CHP says pull over far off the road, turn on your hazards and stay buckled in your car.
For news updates, follow Brianna Willis on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For news updates, follow Kate Nemarich on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
