TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Did you go out of town to celebrate America's birthday?
AAA says a record of over 72 million Americans traveled for the 4th of July this year, and more than 1.5 million are from Arizona alone.
In the Grand Canyon State, more than 1.2 million people traveled by car and more than 179,000 took a plane, which is about 2,400 more than in 2024, according to AAA.
Many people flew to and from the Tucson International Airport (TUS) during this holiday period, though Sunday wasn't as busy as they anticipated.
Austin Wright, Tucson Airport Authority Chief Communications Officer, said the airport was expecting Sunday to be their busiest day with over 10,000 travelers.
A TSA agent said when she last checked around 8 p.m. Sunday, only about 5,000 passengers had gone through.
Though it was no surprise for Melanie Haggerty and her two daughters, 15-year-old Emilie and 18-year-old Audrianna, who knew it was the perfect time to head out of town for a little getaway.
“We like to miss the rush of the 4th and usually we’ll go July 1st, but we decided to wait till the 6th so it would be nice and chill on the way," Melanie said.
The Haggerty’s decided to take their vacation to San Diego for a few reasons.
“The weather. Being away from people for a while too. Just being alone," Emilie said.
Audrianna agrees.
“A little detox. I like the beach. I like to be experiencing new places because I know Tucson all the way out," said Audrianna. "But we go there so much, it's like our getaway from home."
Wright say TUS is expecting about 100,000 passengers to use the airport through the 11-day holiday period that started on June 28 and ends Tuesday, July 8.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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