Fourth of July holiday rush causes travel woes for drivers, flyers

BOOTHWYN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A busy holiday weekend left a lot of travelers with headaches, regardless of if they chose to fly or drive to their Fourth of July destinations.

"Mid-week it was delayed, and then it got delayed another half hour. We're just happy to be home now," said Brandy McRoberts of Canton, Pa., of her flight home from San Diego.

McRoberts says the travel woes were worth the trip, even though the vacation itself was shorter than it was supposed to be.

"We had been delayed on the way out. We were seated a day," she said. "Luckily, we got contacted before we left Canton to know that."

Nationwide, thousands of flights were delayed or canceled over the last week, but people who chose to travel on Fourth of July seemed to have an easier time.

According to FlightAware, about 200 domestic flights were canceled on July 4. That's opposed to 800 a week ago.

Still, travelers dealt with crowded planes.

"It was packed, and this was my first time traveling with a baby, so it was hectic. I would never do it again," said Kianna Jackson from Atlanta.

Those who chose to drive instead paid the highest ever gas prices for Independence Day weekend and dealt with crowded highways.

AAA says more than half a million Philadelphia-area residents celebrated the holiday weekend with a road trip.

"With everybody starting to be back outside from the pandemic, I think people were planning. Two years of being inside, we hadn't been experiencing crazy traffic," said Tasheera Milburn from Claymont, Delaware.

With volume back to pre-pandemic levels, the idea of bumper to bumper traffic all the way to shore even kept some people home.

"You have to take back roads coming from Christiana. It's just wall to wall going to Jersey, so try to avoid all of that as possible," said Nate Brandon from Wilmington.

Dan Salvado from Eddystone said, "It's pretty bad. I don't even try. I wait til after. Before and after."

AAA says the worst days for traffic were Thursday and Friday.

The travel service projects show most people will stagger their rides home.