Holiday travelers pack U.S. roadways, Tampa Bay skies

MANATEE -- More travelers than usual are headed to the Tampa Bay and the Bradenton-Sarasota areas in the next couple of weeks. At Tampa International and Bradenton-Sarasota International airports, ridership is up.

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport has the same number of flights, 20, departing and arriving each day but planes are fuller, said Mark Stuckey, vice president of special projects and development for SRQ Airport. The type of traveler is a little different, he said; it's less the business class and more of a seasonal traveler.

Stuckey's advice to travelers is to arrive at least an hour early and, if bringing Christmas presents on the flight, do not wrap before flying. He anticipates holiday flights will be mostly on time this year due to fairly warm winter weather in the Midwest and Northeast.

"This year we're very blessed that the weather is cooperating," Stuckey said. "We're not seeing cancellations or delays like we've seen in the past."

If travelers have not booked plans yet, Stuckey said they'll likely pay a premium.

Local travelers are luckier than most.

Nationwide, airlines are shifting the timing of thousands of flights, even adding dozens of redeyes, as they try to avoid delays while hauling millions of passengers through the Christmas weekend.

Success or failure could all depend on the weather, and Mother Nature isn't making it easy on airlines.

Rain and fog in the Northeast caused delays Wednesday morning in Boston, New York and Washington -- the busiest part of the country's airspace. Rain in Chicago and Atlanta caused some delays in those cities.

There were about 2,600 delays and 230 cancellations by 2 p.m., according to flight tracking site FlightAware. More than 21,000 flights were scheduled for Wednesday and a typical day sees about 150 cancellations and 4,000 delays.

The catch: Flights are extremely full over the holiday period, with most travelers unable to make changes in their schedule.

Compared with last year, Tampa International Airport is seeing a 10 to 12 percent increase over last year, said Janet Zink, assistant vice president of media and government relations. The busiest days are the Monday and Tuesday after Christmas and Monday and Tuesday after New Year's.

"Last year we had about 50,000 people moving through the airport per day, and this year we have 60,000," Zink said.

The holiday travel crowds are split pretty evenly with departures and arrivals, she said. TIA broke its October passenger record with 1.5 million passengers.

"A lot of that has to do with the economy being better," Zink said.

Tourism and business are doing well in the Tampa Bay region, she said, which contributes to higher passenger loads on the 400 planes flying in and out of Tampa International Airport on a daily basis.

The biggest change for Tampa passengers is construction around the airport. People picking up arriving passengers can no longer circle the terminal because of construction, Zink said, and she encourages those picking passengers up to use the cell phone lot, where plenty of parking and a variety of food trucks wait.

Holiday travelers traversing roadways can expect to pay less for gas than in past holiday seasons. GasBuddy, an organization that collects real-time gas prices submitted by users, estimates drivers will save $1.6 billion on fuel compared with last year.

Holiday gas prices haven't been this low since 2008, according to GasBuddy.

Material from the Associated press was used in this report.

Janelle O'Dea, business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095 or follow her on Twitter@jayohday.

This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Holiday travelers pack U.S. roadways, Tampa Bay skies ."