Tens of millions of Americans won’t travel as COVID ruins holiday plans, AAA says

For weeks, experts have been warning against holiday travel during the pandemic, but is anyone listening?

It seems they are, according to figures from AAA.

At least 34 million fewer Americans will hit the road or take to the skies this month compared with last year, AAA predicts.

“Public health concerns, official guidance not to travel, and an overall decline in consumer sentiment have encouraged the vast majority of Americans to stay home for the holidays,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, said in a release.

Despite pleas from health officials, millions still traveled for Thanksgiving, gathering together from across the country — which helped fuel the record nationwide COVID-19 surge happening now, McClatchy News reported.

The remaining holidays, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s, could carry even greater consequences if Americans decide to travel and gather together, experts say.

“I think it could be even more of a challenge than what we saw with Thanksgiving,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN earlier this month. “I hope that people realize that and understand that as difficult as this is, nobody wants to modify — if not essentially shut down — their holiday season, but we are in a very critical time in this country right now.”

While millions more Americans will likely play it safe this year, AAA expects another 84 million to still travel between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3.

That’s about 30 million more people traveling in December than what AAA estimates for Thanksgiving.

The vast majority of this season’s 84 million travelers will head to their destinations by car, truck or SUV, according to AAA.

Even with ticket prices falling, air travel should see a much sharper decline of 60% compared with 2019, with only 2.9 million flights being booked.

Buses and trains will be emptiest of all, with an 87% decrease predicted, AAA said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people celebrate the holidays with those already around them, whether that’s immediate family or roommates. Otherwise, keep the gathering small, keep it socially distanced, and keep it masked, the CDC says.

Decisions made by the American public in the next few weeks will be critical, either helping to feed the COVID surge or flatten it, Fauci told NBC News.

“What we expect, unfortunately, as we go for the next couple of weeks into December is that we might see a surge superimposed on the surge we are already in,” Fauci said last month. “I don’t want to frighten people except to say it’s not too late at all for us to do something about this.”