AAA predicts 45 million Memorial Day travelers

AAA said 45 million Americans were expected to travel at least 50 miles from home over the Memorial Day holiday period from Thursday, May 21, through Monday, May 25. The forecast, published May 11, was slightly above 2025 levels and set what AAA called a new Memorial Day weekend record. (newsroom.aaa.com) The group said 39.1 million people would travel by car and 3.66 million would fly. Gas prices, meanwhile, remained elevated heading into the weekend, with the national average for regular gasoline at $4.56 a gallon on May 21, according to Yahoo Finance, citing AAA data. ### How many people did AAA expect on the move? AAA said the 45 million figure covers domestic travelers going at least 50 miles from home during the five-day holiday window. (newsroom.aaa.com) The organization said the total was slightly higher than the 44.8 million travelers it estimated for Memorial Day in 2025. The May 11 forecast also said the 2026 total would set a holiday record. AAA has used Memorial Day travel forecasts for years as an early gauge of summer demand. ### How much of that travel was expected to happen by car? AAA said 39.1 million people would drive over the holiday weekend. (newsroom.aaa.com) That works out to about 87% of all Memorial Day travelers, making road trips by far the dominant form of travel in the forecast. Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel, said in the release that Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and gives many Americans a three-day weekend to travel. (newsroom.aaa.com) AAA said driving remained attractive because it offers flexibility and, for many families, lower upfront costs than airfare. ### What about flights and other trips? AAA said 3.66 million travelers were expected to fly to their destinations over Memorial Day weekend. The group said average ticket prices were lower than last year for travelers who booked early, even as gasoline prices rose. (newsroom.aaa.com) The remaining travelers were expected to use buses, trains or cruises, according to the AAA breakdown. The forecast did not suggest that higher pump prices were enough to deter the overall volume of holiday travel. ### How high were gas prices heading into the weekend? (newsroom.aaa.com) Yahoo reported that regular gasoline averaged $4.56 a gallon on Wednesday, May 21. That was up 3 cents from a week earlier and $1.38 above the same period last year, according to Yahoo Finance coverage citing AAA figures. (newsroom.aaa.com) Yahoo Finance also reported that the last time Memorial Day gas prices were this high was 2022, when the national average reached $4.61 a gallon. Separate Yahoo coverage said more than 39 million people were still expected to hit the road despite the increase. (newsroom.aaa.com) ### Why didn’t higher gas prices stop the forecast from rising? AAA said the 2026 travel forecast was still slightly above last year’s level despite higher fuel costs. In its release, the group pointed to lower airfares for early bookers and the holiday’s role as the start of the summer travel season. (yahoo.com) Reading Eagle, in Yahoo travel coverage published May 20, reported that gasoline prices at their highest since summer 2022 were not stalling Memorial Day travel demand. That report cited AAA’s projection that 45 million Americans would travel during the Thursday-to-Monday holiday period. (finance.yahoo.com) ### What dates matter most in the forecast? AAA said its Memorial Day forecast covered travel between Thursday, May 21, and Monday, May 25. The gasoline benchmark cited in Yahoo coverage was the national average for regular fuel on Wednesday, May 21. (newsroom.aaa.com) AAA’s forecast was published on May 11, and the next major test of the projection was the holiday return leg on Monday, May 25, when millions of drivers were expected to be on the roads heading home. (newsroom.aaa.com) (travel.yahoo.com)