Gasoline prices remain low, though tensions are high for July 4 air travel

July 3 (UPI) -- Trends continue to work in favor of would-be holiday travelers as data show a steady march lower for retail gasoline prices, though those traveling by air might not be so lucky, data show.

Travel club AAA is expecting a busy week in travel for Independence Day, with slightly more than 50 million people forecast to travel more than 50 miles. That would set a record should the forecast prove accurate.

But even with the expected surge in demand, retail prices are moderating somewhat, working in favor of those looking for a long road trip this holiday. AAA put the national average retail price at $3.54 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, about 3 cents per gallon lower than week-ago levels and $1.27 less than this time last year.

Federal data does show that gasoline demand is holding up, but it remains still a bit below pre-pandemic levels. Air travel, however, could be a headache if recent woes attributed to United Airlines spillover to other carriers and hubs.

United Airlines last week canceled more than 3,000 flights as severe weather impacted arrivals at key airports in the New York area, leaving thousands of passengers without flights.

That said, apart from construction issues at airports such as Atlanta, Delta airlines in its advisory reports show no major issues in terms of travel delays.

That could all change, however, once those who already left for their holidays return to work later in the week.

"The share of air travelers in the overall holiday forecast this year is an impressive 8.2% -- the highest percentage in nearly 20 years," it said.

The number of people passing through airport security on Sunday was nearly 20% higher than year-ago levels. FlightAware, meanwhile, is showing 87 cancellations within, into or out of the United States on Monday. That's nearly 1,000 less than at the worst of the issues from last week.