Americans set out for the holiday weekend

More than 1.8 million travelers passed through U.S. airports on Thursday. U.S. travel is up despite flights, gasoline, and accommodations being more expensive. If more than 2 million people pass through airports over Memorial Day weekend as expected, it will be the most since early March 2020. AAA predicted a 60 percent increase from the same holiday weekend last year.

What’s making the difference? New COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths have continued to decline, and more and more states are dropping pandemic restrictions. Increasing vaccinations are also convincing people it’s safe to travel—more than half of American adults are fully vaccinated, and 62 percent have received at least one shot.

Dig deeper: Read Anna Timmis’ report in Muse about how the pandemic may have permanently changed the way Americans listen to live music.