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July Fourth travelers facing long lines, frustration trying to rent a car

'Oh, we're angry, very angry,' traveler Terri Gromacki says
Posted at 5:19 PM, Jun 30, 2023
and last updated 2023-06-30 21:44:45-04

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Millions of people are hitting the road or heading to the airport for a long July Fourth weekend.

The Transportation Security Administration anticipated the busiest travel days will occur from June 29 through July 5.

The peak travel day of the holiday weekend was expected to be Friday, with TSA screening an estimated 2.82 million people and about 17.7 million during the seven-day travel period.

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As far as air travel at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday was a relatively good start to the holiday weekend. One flight was canceled Friday morning — a JetBlue flight heading to New York's JFK Airport.

There were a handful of delays of about 20-30 minutes, but that wasn't anything travelers were too upset about.

On the other hand, there has been quite a bit of frustration at rental car counters. There are not enough cars for rent at several airports in the U.S.

Traveler Terri Gromacki was among those looking to rent a car at Palm Beach International Airport on Friday.
Traveler Terri Gromacki was among those looking to rent a car at Palm Beach International Airport on Friday.

Rental companies cut back on their fleets during the pandemic. Then when travel opened up, new cars were scarce because a shortage of computer chips limited new car production.

PBIA travelers were among those frustrated.

"So, we'll be here six hours. Oh, we're angry, very angry," traveler Terri Gromacki said. "We flew two and half hours here. It was faster than waiting in line getting my car."

A reminder for visitors to PBIA that short-term and premium parking lots are currently closed for refurbishments. Long-term and economy parking is still available.

While many travelers wanting to rent cars at PBIA were frustrated, so too were many airline passengers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport where eight flights were canceled and more than 140 were delayed Friday.