Travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels, which could prove stressful
28 May 2021
Many summer travelers may wish they stayed home.
Why it matters: Travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels at a time when the country remains divided on masks and vaccinations — and worker shortages mean reduced service levels, yet higher prices.
By the numbers: More than 37 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more this Memorial Day weekend (6 million fewer than in 2019), according to AAA.
- Of those, 34 million are planning road trips.
- Airfares are going up steadily around 12%, according to TripActions.
- Hotel occupancy is at 60% with weekly room demand at 80% or more of 2019 levels. Daily rates are down 15% compared to 2019 but growing.
- Gas prices have exceeded $4 west of Colorado, with the national average now $3.04 a gallon, according to AAA.
What they're saying: Because parts of Europe are still closed off to travelers, summer travel this year will be domestic — meaning travelers should also expect culture clashes, The Points Guy founder Brian Kelly tells Axios.
- For the better part of a year, people have remained in communities that shared the same beliefs when it comes to COVID precautions and vaccines. Now, with massive domestic travel, "you have anti-maskers on planes with those who are petrified," Kelly says.
- "I thought people would savor travel and be kind to one another, but unfortunately due to the fact that we’re living in two Americas ... it's only going to get worse," he added.
What to watch: Expect jammed roadways, full planes, long TSA lines, slower room service, and some unruly passengers.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.