Muhammad Ali international Airport prepares for record-breaking surge of travelers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport is preparing for a record-breaking surge of travelers during this holiday weekend.

Memorial Day is known as the unofficial start of the summer travel season.

SDF said nearly 57,000 people will fly out of Louisville between Thursday and Tuesday.

AAA said nearly 42-million Americans are traveling at least 50 miles from home this weekend. 37-million are taking a road trip and more than 3-million people will be travelling by air on Memorial day alone.

“What we’re seeing, as far as this year compared to years past, there is a tremendous amount of pent up demand for travel,” AAA East-Central Media Spokesperson Lunda Lambert said. “Americans are ready to get out there again because for so long we weren’t allowed to and countries were shut down. International travel, for example, in 2023 is up 250%, and cruising is up 50%. So Americans are traveling and the numbers for this year, for Memorial Day, the 42-million that are traveling, that’s up 7% over last year. And it is the third highest number since AAA started keeping track back in 2000.”

If you are traveling by car this weekend, make sure you get our car checked before leaving. According to AAA, they are expecting to rescue 480,000 people over the weekend, mainly for flat tires, lock outs and dead batteries.