President Trump will send ICE agents to airports after TSA workers go unpaid
President Donald Trump said ICE agents will be sent to airports starting March 23 as TSA agents go unpaid during the partial government shutdown.
- Rising gas prices and long airport security lines are causing travelers to reconsider driving versus flying.
- Factors to consider include the number of travelers, total travel time, and the cost of gas and plane tickets.
- Travelers can use online calculators to compare the estimated costs of driving and flying for a particular trip.
With gas prices hovering around $4 in much of the country and security lines at major airports disrupted by a partial government shutdown that affected the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), millions of Americans who normally travel for spring break or early summer vacation are debating whether to drive or fly.
The average price of gasoline rose to $3.96 per gallon on March 23, up from an average of $3.72 per gallon a week earlier on March 16, according to the AAA Auto Club.
The increase comes as the Trump administration has sent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to several federal airports to help ease security screenings that have become crowded and caused some passengers to miss their flights. Many airports now recommend passengers arrive three hours before scheduled departure for domestic flights, compared to the previous recommendation of two hours for domestic travel and three hours for international flights.
With all of this in mind, the USA TODAY Cars team looked at some factors to consider when deciding whether to drive or fly on your next vacation, and we’ve included a calculator from Kayak.com that you can use to crunch the numbers yourself.
How do you decide whether to drive or fly?
The website ThePointsGuy.com states that when deciding whether to drive or fly, you should consider the following factors:
- How many people are in your travel party?: Even if you fly on a known low-cost airline, the cost of flying can quickly add up when you add multiple family members, such as spouses and children. Note that most airlines charge full price for all passengers over the age of two.
- What is the detention time?: Based on 2024 data compiled by Statista.com, most Americans take an average road trip of 6 to 10 hours. Meanwhile, TSA wait times at America’s busiest airports averaged several hours on Monday, March 23.
- Is it gas, hotel costs for long drives, and plane ticket costs? Road trips may require multiple refueling stops and may require an overnight stay in a hotel to break up a long drive. Purchasing a flight ticket is not the only cost involved. Most airlines charge a fee for checked baggage, but some low-cost airlines also charge a fee for carry-on baggage.
How do I calculate the cost of a car and a flight?
Kayak’s website has a calculator you can use to compare the costs of driving and flying.
Use this calculator to enter your origin and destination, month of travel, and estimate the expected cost of flying and driving based on an analysis of current and historical lowest round-trip ticket prices per traveler and average car rental prices over the past 31 days.
