BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The holiday season brings excitement for family gatherings and celebrations, but it also means navigating crowded airports and busy highways. Local travel experts offer practical advice to help make your journey smoother this Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Airport advice: Plan for delays
Kern County Director of Airports Bill LeManque brings decades of aviation experience to his recommendations for air travelers. Despite being new to his current role, his advice remains consistent with what he's shared for years.
"Plan ahead for that extra time, just whatever time your flight is, tell yourself it's leaving two hours earlier than that, and just get to the airport, and you never know if there's a delay with the flight with TSA, if you have trouble checking in for some reason, that's just, you know, a good idea," LeManque said.
The key to successful air travel during the holidays is building buffer time into your schedule for unexpected delays at security checkpoints or flight changes.
Highway travel: Safety over speed
Officer D.C. Williams, public information officer for CHP's Fort Tejon Office, sees firsthand how holiday travel can create chaotic conditions on roadways. The days surrounding Thanksgiving and Christmas typically bring the heaviest traffic volumes of the year.
Williams emphasizes that aggressive driving doesn't significantly reduce travel time and creates unnecessary risks.
"If somebody's trying to shave off time by driving really fast or aggressively. You're not shaving much time off at all. You're talking, maybe a minute or two. So if you're already running late, you're gonna be late. You're already late. So the best thing to do is, is to get there safely," Williams said.
Traveler perspective: Embrace the journey
Holiday travelers are finding their own strategies for managing seasonal trips. Richard De La Cruz suggests shifting your mindset about travel itself.
"Enjoy the travel. Pull over, check out the sights. If you're driving, like we're going to San Francisco, definitely pull over and you never know who you're gonna meet," De La Cruz said.
His approach transforms potential travel stress into opportunities for discovery and connection.
Bottom line for holiday travelers
The consistent message from aviation and highway safety experts is simple: allow extra time for your holiday travels. Whether flying or driving, the goal should be arriving safely rather than arriving quickly.
Planning ahead and maintaining realistic expectations can help ensure your holiday travel becomes part of the celebration rather than a source of stress.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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