Holiday travelers head to Chicago airports, roads Thursday

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The roads and skies are about to get busy as Thursday marks the beginning of the Fourth of July travel period.

Early Thursday morning, there were already plenty of people catching those early flights out of O'Hare Airport.

And thousands have come in and out throughout the day.

"I'll tell you what, Cleveland was pretty calm. Then, I got off the flight here, and yeah, it felt like Grand Central Station, so nothing new for Chicago," Cleveland resident Darian Thomas said.

The Transportation Security Administration said it could screen millions of passengers Friday, potentially setting a new single-day record on what's expected to be the busiest travel day in years.

"Friday is going to be our busiest day here and nationwide. Give yourself plenty of time; so many of the other issues you may encounter at checkpoint are way less of a deal if you have time and you're not in a rush," TSA regional spokeswoman Jessica Mayle said.

Some people made sure to do just that Thursday, arriving at the airport early in preparation of possible changes.

"We actually just flew back from seeing the Cubs in London on Tuesday, so we've only been in town for 48 hours, so we are expecting some delays and canceled flights. We experienced it a bit on the way back," a Barrington resident flying to New York said.

The bustling holiday travel period comes amid a turbulent week of delays and cancellations across the country due to severe weather and staffing shortages.

Already at O'Hare Thursday, more than 100 flights have been canceled.

SEE ALSO: Fireworks 2023: Full list of 4th of July events, displays across Chicago area

"I'm running of fumes right now," Josh Grodko, who is flying to Cleveland, said.

Grodko was up just about all night, waiting to board his short flight back to Cleveland, which was delayed and canceled.

"Lot of us were thinking about renting cars last night and just driving back about five-, six-hour ride," Grodko said. "But you can't get a car rental at midnight."

As a suitcase sea fills O'Hare, passengers said they are just excited to enjoy some fresh, healthy air.

"Let's put that out there, the clean air away from Chicago due to the fog from Canada," Jeremy Davis, who is traveling to Cabo, said. "I'm looking forward to tequila and relaxation."

The NASCAR Street Race is also likely to bring in more air traffic to Chicago this weekend.

Friday is supposed to be busy on the roads, as well, with AAA expecting more than 50 million people to drive at least 50 miles to their destination.

They said that would be a Fourth of July travel record.