It's a busy travel time at Newark Airport and NJ. Here's what to know
The time has come when holiday travel is expected to peak from Christmas weekend through the beginning of the new year.
Here is what you need to know if you are traveling in or out of New Jersey over the next couple of weeks.
Newark Airport travel alerts
After running on a modified service on Thursday morning, the AirTrain at Newark Airport (EWR) is back to full-service operation.
EWR is recommending that travelers budget some extra travel time this holiday season as it will be busy. Make sure you leave yourself more than enough time to park, check in, and get through the security lines which are likely to be long.
FlightAware shows only three cancellations in the last 24 hours at the airport.
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Additionally, if you see any suspicious activity, unattended bags, or have an emergency, call Port Authority Police at 800-828-7273.
If you are flying in or out of the Newark Airport, keep an eye on its X page (formerly Twitter) for additional live updates and travel alerts.
North Jersey weather forecast
Luckily, the weather forecast for the holiday weekend is currently looking like smooth sailing according to Dominic Ramunni of the National Weather Service.
"Fortunately, the weather locally is expected to be quiet through the Christmas holiday," said Ramunni. "High pressure largely in control over the East Coast should help travelers get off the ground in Newark."
If you are traveling west toward the central part of the country, you might run into more active weather around Christmas Eve as a storm system looks to be developing in that area of the country, potentially causing some air travel delays.
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As for temperature, the National Weather Service predicts that it will remain mostly in the 30s and 40s around the Newark area with the lowest low being 25 degrees and the highest high being 50 degrees from Thursday until Christmas Day on Sunday.
Looking toward the post-Christmas travel period, we may be looking at some inclement weather locally as the storm moves east.
"By later Tuesday the 26th, perhaps into Wednesday or Thursday, we could be talking about some impactful rain," said Ramunni. "We'll see, it's quite a bit out at this point but there is a potential for hazardous weather for air travelers next week as folks are coming or going after the holiday."
Keep an eye on your local weather forecast and the forecast of your travel destination.
AAA national travel predictions
The American Automobile Association recently released its travel predictions for the year-end holiday travel period which they define as Dec. 23, 2023, through Jan. 1, 2024.
For the 2023 season, airports are expected to be the busiest they have ever been with 7.5 million projected air travelers. This number will surpass the record of 7.3 million that was set in 2019.
An estimated 104 million people will drive to their holiday and celebration destinations, the second- highest year on record.
Additional modes of travel such as buses, cruises, or trains are also surpassing the last few years' numbers with over 4 million people expected to use these methods of transportation.
Overall, they expect that over 115 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home for the holidays this year, a 22% increase from last year and the second busiest travel year since 2000.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Newark Airport and NJ holiday travel info during busy season
