Summer travel expected to decline by 15% as COVID-19 concerns mount amid surge in cases, hospitalizations

With coronavirus cases on the rise in parts of the country, there's renewed concerns over domestic travel.

ByJade Hernandez KABC logo
Friday, June 26, 2020
Summer travel expected to decline by 15% amid COVID-19 surge
With coronavirus cases on the rise in parts of the country, there's renewed concerns over domestic travel.

LOS ANGELES -- With coronavirus cases on the rise in parts of the country, there's renewed concerns over domestic travel.

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This time of year would normally mean busy roads and airports for the summer travel season -- but not this year.

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted summer travel season, which is usually at its peak around July 4, to considerably decrease.

AAA reports car travel is expected to decline by 3.6%, air by 71.7% and travel by train, cruise or bus is forecasted to drop by 84.9%.

The dip in air travel is expected to cause the lowest number of trips by air in the past 20 years.

The Automobile Club of Southern California anticipates road trips to be the preferred means of travel for residents of California, Oregon, Washington state, Hawaii and Alaska.

However, auto experts expect there to be far fewer vehicles on the roads. Overall, trips taken by vehicles are projected to be down by 17% -- the lowest since 2013.

New safety measures are being implemented at travel hubs across the country, including at Los Angeles International Airport where thermal cameras as being used to check passengers' body temperatures.

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LAX is installing thermal-imaging cameras that can check passengers' temperatures from a distance in addition to other measures to screen for coronavirus during the summer travel season.