It's Christmas, which means busy airports and busy roads.

For marketplace, I'm Nova Safo in for David Brancaccio.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.

Last year's holiday travel period was busy this year. By the time New Year's day is behind us, it's expected to be even busier.

The good news, if you're traveling or plan to, is that it has likely cost you less than it did last year.

Travel website Hopper for instance says Christmas time plane tickets have been 12% cheaper.

Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genser has more.

The holiday travel season runs from Thursday, December 21st through Tuesday, January 2nd,

according to the Transportation Security Administration, the agency pegs December 21st and 29th and New Year's Day as the busiest travel days.

The TSA expects to screen more than 2.5 million passengers each of those days, a 6% increase from last year.

AAA says more people will be traveling domestically this year than in 2022.

That's its second highest year-end travel forecast since 2000.

But AAA expects drivers will be paying about the same or even less for a gallon of gas

than they did this time last year.

That's good because TransUnion says a majority of the households it surveyed plan to spend less than $5,000 on their holiday travel.

I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace.

And speaking of travel, last week we told you about the record $140 million fine the U.S. Department

of Transportation is levying against Southwest Airlines.

This is for that operational meltdown during last year's holiday travel period.

Most of that money will actually go towards compensating future Southwest customers if they face certain cancellations.

We have details on who qualifies and who doesn't and how federal officials hope to reform

air passenger compensation.

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