A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The summer travel season is underway, with millions of Americans on the move over the long holiday weekend.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
But there are also some big questions about the summer travel season, including whether the nation's fragile air traffic control system can handle the surge.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Joel Rose covers transportation. So, Joel, what kind of numbers are we expecting from this Memorial Day weekend?
JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: Big ones. The forecast from AAA is that we will see a record this holiday weekend, with 45 million Americans traveling at least 50 miles from home. That is expected to break a record that has stood for 20 years. And it's mostly because of a record number of Americans driving this weekend. Drivers will find gas prices at their lowest levels on Memorial Day since 2021, according to Gas Buddy. Air travel is not quite expected to break the all-time record, but it is still forecast to be up about 12% compared to the levels before the COVID pandemic, according to AAA. So the demand for holiday travel this weekend is definitely there.
MARTÍNEZ: You know, Joel, summer and airline travel go hand in hand. So what's the outlook for the skies?
ROSE: Airlines went into this year very optimistic about 2025, and they were expecting strong demand. But a lot of things have happened to cut into that optimism. The forecasts for international travel have softened because of political tensions between the U.S. and other countries. There's a lot of concern that travel from Canada and Europe to the U.S. will be down this summer.
Also, we have seen some very high-profile problems in the aviation system itself. You had the midair collision at Washington Reagan National Airport in January between a regional jet and a military helicopter. And a few weeks later, there was a hard landing in Toronto, where another regional jet flipped over on the runway. And in recent weeks, we have seen hundreds of flights canceled or delayed or diverted around Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, outside New York City, because of several radar and communication outages in the facility that manages that airspace. Also, there's a shortage of air traffic controllers in Newark and, really, across the whole country. And all of this is creating a lot of uncertainty around air travel this summer.
MARTÍNEZ: So speaking of Newark, what's new there?
ROSE: The FAA has now capped the number of flights in and out at Newark at a level that the agency says is more in line with what air traffic control can handle. The FAA says it's working to install new fiber optic lines and adding new backup systems to help with the technical problems in Newark. The FAA says it's also trying to speed up hiring and training of new air traffic controllers, but, you know, the reality is that it takes years to train them to work in complex and congested airspace, and the system nationwide is more than 3,000 controllers short, so there's no quick fix.
MARTÍNEZ: So is Newark Airport ready for the summer travel season? I mean, what's going on?
ROSE: Federal regulators and aviation industry experts say it is safe to fly through Newark, and so does United Airlines. And this is a very big deal for United because Newark is a major hub. In particular, it is United's biggest international hub in the country. So United says it has seen some customers trying to avoid Newark, rebooking to other airports in the New York area and to other airlines. But United says it's optimistic that these new limits on the number of flights should reduce delays this summer.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, anything else travelers need to know about?
ROSE: This is the first Memorial Day since the Real ID requirement took effect. Officially, that means you cannot just show up with a standard driver's license or state ID at airport security. In practice, TSA is still allowing people without a Real ID to travel, but they say you may experience delays and have to go through some additional screening if you don't have the updated Real ID.
MARTÍNEZ: Joel Rose covers transportation for NPR. Thanks, Joel.
ROSE: You're welcome.
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