Texans Get Away During the Holidays

Texans heading out Wednesday for the Christmas and New Year's holidays are expected to face crowded airports and busy highways.

But airport and highway crowding may be smaller than previous years, due to cutbacks in airline schedules and economic concerns.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport expects nearly 3 million passengers through Jan. 6. The DFW airport's holiday reporting period began Dec. 18.

DFW also reports passenger loads are down about 7 percent from last year.

The world's third busiest airport says more high-tech offerings will greet passengers, with expansion of the free power/free wired Internet kiosks to 17 locations.

AAA Texas is projecting a 2.1 percent decline in the number of Texans traveling during the two-week holiday period, to about 5.1 million people, compared to last year.

The association predicts the bulk of the travelers will be driving, about 4.5 million Texans.

Association spokesman Dan Ronan says Texans are expected to "represent 8½ percent of the total driving public this Christmas."