Peak holiday travel period to begin soon

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The holidays are fast approaching and people will soon be hitting the roads and skies to get to their friends and family.

"90% of holiday travelers are going to be driving to their destination," AAA northern California spokesperson, John Traenor stated.

"That means about 14 million Californians are going to be driving on the long roadways this holiday week."

Traenor says with Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah on a Wednesday this year, the travel period is a bit tricky.

"We really expect people to start traveling on Saturday, December 21st and we've extended this forecast all the way to January 1st," Traenor explained.

"The closer you get to Christmas Eve the busier it's going to get with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day being kind of the lightest travel days."

Traenor says most will get stuck in some form of traffic unless you plan accordingly.

"We always recommend before 10 am, but if you can do it earlier than that before 8 am is really what I find to be the best time to avoid traffic. If you're okay driving late at night, drive after 7 pm," he said.

In the Central Valley, fog may be an issue on roadways during some of those busy travel days.

"Make sure your lights are on," Traenor advised. "You want to give extra room between the person in front of you and behind you. You want to make sure you're as visible as possible. If you do have to pull off to the side of the road. For example, make sure your four ways are on."

If you're flying for your holiday celebrations, Airlines for America expects Friday, December 20; Sunday, December 22; Thursday, December 26; Friday, December 27; and Sunday, December 29 to be the busiest travel days nationwide.

Fresno Yosemite International Airport says the busiest times are 4 am to 6 am, 11 am to 2 pm and 9 pm to midnight.

"If you normally get there two hours early, get there three hours early," Traenor said.

"You want to make sure you get things like a parking spot and get prepared for long TSA lines."

The airport recommends passengers download airline apps to get real-time updates on flight status, boarding times, gate numbers and any other important announcements.

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