Long Island travelers will spend more to drive, fly domestically over Labor Day weekend
Long Islanders traveling over the Labor Day weekend will spend more to fill up their vehicles and fly domestically compared with the same holiday period in 2025, according to AAA Northeast.
Gas prices on Long Island hit an average of about $4.24 per gallon Thursday, a jump of 12 cents from last week and a $1.13 increase compared with last year, according to the automobile association.
Round-trip airfare for domestic flights has increased by 2%, according to a AAA news release. Those flying overseas, however, can expect to pay about 4% less than last Labor Day weekend.
Thursday through Tuesday, about 2.5 million passengers will travel through Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark and New York Stewart International airports, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. That figure represents a 100,000-person drop compared with last year.
Ticket holders should prepare to arrive at least two hours before scheduled takeoff for domestic flights, and at least three hours in advance of flights overseas, especially on Friday, which along with Thursday, was forecast by the Port Authority to be the busiest day of the long weekend. Passengers can use the authority’s recently revamped websites that use artificial intelligence to provide updated information regarding flights, security checkpoint wait times and amenities at each of its airports.
About 4.2 million drivers are expected to cross the six bridges and tunnels that connect the five boroughs with New Jersey, the Port Authority said in a news release. That figure is comparable with the volume of drivers that used those crossings over the same period last year. Nonemergency construction on the Port Authority’s bridges and tunnels will be halted from 5 a.m. Friday through 5 p.m. Tuesday.
All air travelers are advised to prebook parking at their departure airport or rely on mass transit and have their REAL ID-compliant form of identification ready, the Port Authority said. Those without the federally approved ID might have to spend $45 and upward of 30 minutes on the Transportation Security Administration’s ConfirmID identification process.
Construction projects at Kennedy will lead to delays and detours throughout the holiday weekend, the Port Authority said. Travelers are advised to ride New York City Transit subways or buses or the Long Island Rail Road to the AirTrain JFK station at Jamaica.
Road-trippers heading out to the highways should do so before noon on Friday, before 10 a.m. on Saturday and before noon on Monday, according to AAA.
