ATLANTA — Hartsfield Jackson International Airport is preparing for the summer travel season as airline ticket prices are lower than a year ago.
The World’s Busiest Airport expects 2.5 million passengers to travel through Atlanta between Wednesday, May 22, and Wednesday, May 29. Memorial Day, the unofficial start to the summer travel season, is May 27.
On Tuesday, Hartsfield officials will meet with representatives from the TSA and AAA to discuss ways to make summer travel easier.
Sydney Jackson, who was in Atlanta to spend Mother’s Day weekend with family, said her travel itinerary over the next few months is extensive. She’s already been to Central America this year.
“We also have a trip planned at the end of July to visit the Caribbean,” said Jackson. "We also went to Miami last week."
Her trip to the Caribbean comes with tickets that are a bargain this year.
According to the travel search engine Kayak, domestic flight tickets are currently down 13% from last year. Sydney’s trip to the Caribbean costs 15 % less than a year ago, and a trip to Europe is 7 % cheaper than last year.
According to the travel site Hopper, this is the first time since 2020 that airfares have dropped when compared to the previous year. Hopper forecasts that airline tickets will peak at an average price of $315 a ticket sometime at the end of May or early June.
Hotel prices will average about $240 a night this summer, according to Hopper. Rental cars are going for an average of $46 a day, which is about the same as last year.
The half dozen or so trips Sydney Jackson has planned may not be enough to satisfy her hunger.
“I think I’m also going to visit one of my friends in New York,” Jackson said.
Between now and the end of summer, she and her suitcase will have made many memories together.