KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Holiday travel tips

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Millions of travelers are expected to take to the skies or roads this holiday season, more than 55 million to be exact.

According to the Amercian Automobile Association (AAA) Wednesday between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. was the worst time to travel, but for those who have yet to head out here are some expert traveling tips.

AAA forecasts the majority of holiday travelers will drive. Thankfully for Midwesterners, the weather won’t hamper any plans. State Patrol Sgt. Troy Christianson still urges drivers to allow enough time to get to their destination and limit distractions while driving.

“We are just getting into our busy season,” Christianson said. “We’ll have a lot more crashes this time of year but in the summer months we have a lot more serious and fatal crashes and a lot of that due to speeds. In the winter months speeds are down significantly.”

For those going wheels up on a runway, here’s some TSA dos and don’ts.

Do make sure all of your items are TSA approved.

“If you are traveling with any sort of food items or anything sort of unusually sized say gifts or food that you might be bringing back from the thanksgiving holiday check with TSA to make sure it can go in a carry on or if you do need to check it that you have packed in a bag,” RST marketing and communications manager Mary Gastner said.

Don’t try to navigate the airport last minute.

“Any closer than 40 minutes ahead of your boarding time if you are carrying on all of your baggage but if you have any checked baggage making sure that you show up 90 minutes before your flight departure time,” Gastner said.

For those who have yet to head out, AAA says Thursday morning before 11 a.m. is the best time to travel.