Hundreds of thousands of people traveled through Atlanta over the holiday week.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said it expected about 2.6 million flyers to come through Atlanta between May 21-28. That’s an increase of about 143,000 passengers compared to last year, the airport said in a press release last week.
The Transportation Security Administration opened additional screening lanes in anticipation of 710,000 travelers it expected to screen. It’s not clear if the airport met or exceeded the anticipated totals, as the TSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Travel by train also appears to have been a popular option.
A late Sunday night Amtrak ride to New York City was sold out. The full ride on the Amtrak Crescent line was slated to take 18 hours, with stops including Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Tickets were still available for those traveling to destinations in the South, such as Clemson, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Greensboro, North Carolina.
The eastbound train stops in Atlanta at 11:30 p.m. every evening, while a westbound train headed for New Orleans arrives every morning. Tickets for the nearly 13-hour ride to the Big Easy on Monday morning — with stops in Birmingham, Alabama; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and Picayune, Mississippi — were still available as of Sunday evening.
It’s unclear if Amtrak saw an influx of passengers over Memorial Day weekend, as the organization did not return a request for comment.
Roadways were crowded too.
Between a Saturday home game for the Atlanta United, as well as the Atlanta Jazz Festival at Piedmont Park on Saturday and Sunday, some portions of the city saw traffic slowdowns. On Sunday, crashes caused delays on I-285 and I-75.
Monday is expected to be a heavy traffic day as many people return to Atlanta on the final day of the long holiday weekend.
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