Travelers pack airports, roads ahead of July 4th weekend

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Holiday travel was in full swing Friday as millions of people nationwide set out for the Fourth of July destination. No matter what mode of transportation travelers are choosing, there's bound to be congestion.

Friday marked the start of a busy travel week at Philadelphia International Airport, where nearly 600,000 people are expected to pass through in the next seven days.

Darlaine Scott McCoy ended up in Philadelphia after her flight to Orlando was overbooked in Newark, New Jersey.

"It's just bad business," said Scott McCoy, who added at this point, she just hopes she makes it to her destination.

"We're gonna eat, we're gonna shop. Maybe I'll buy some alcohol, I need it at this point," said Scott McCoy.

Airport officials say it's vital passengers give themselves extra time this week and come to the airport with a plan.

"You have to do your homework before you get to the airport. Make sure you're signed up with your airline for their alerts; email, text, you're on their website, you downloaded their app because that's where the most up-to-date information is going to come from," said PHL spokesperson Heather Redfern.

Those driving to their holiday destinations are at the mercy of the roads.

"Terrible, absolutely terrible," said Joe Klostermann from Fort Pierce, Florida. He says he flew into PHL and then hopped in a car to go to the Jersey Shore. He says it took him half an hour to get over the Walt Whitman Bridge from the airport. At that point, he says he turned off his GPS.

"Why get depressed this early this far away from the beach?" he joke.

According to AAA, he's one of 43.2 million people driving to their 4th of July destination.

More than 4 million people are expected to fly and about 3.4 million are taking a different mode of transportation, like cruises or trains.

"This is a planes, trains, and automobiles kind of vacation," said Brian Forrester from Nashville.

He took a train from New York to Philadelphia to see the Phillies game and says Amtrak has been his easiest ride.

"It's been easy, it's been really fun, this is our first time on an Amtrak," he said.