Record number of Americans to travel over holidays, AAA says

CHICAGO (WLS) -- AAA is expecting nearly 99 million Americans to travel 50 miles or more from home during this holiday season.

Holiday travel season officially gets underway Tuesday and continues through January 4. AAA projects 98.6 million people are planning getaways, making it the most year-end travelers on record. There are a few reasons for the upward trend.

"Certainly the economy is turning around. People have more disposable income, they're working and feel more stable in their jobs," said Beth Mosher, AAA.

Also, lower gas prices are enabling families to set aside money for travel. Dan Canfield will be hitting the road to see his family and says there's definitely less pain at the pump.

"It's nice. A little extra cash in the pocket. Extra gifts, right?" Canfield said.

Air travel is also up 1 percent from last year. At Midway, some people were getting the jump on the travel season by leaving Monday. Some are hoping there will not be a repeat of the mile-long security checkpoint line like there was the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

"It looks like everything is clear. I was worried about rain, but I think it should be fine to fly out. Everything is fine," said Leah Dunleavy.

The TSA says since that delay, they have worked to keep wait times to 10 minutes or less.