JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The Spring Break travel season continues, but with the recent air travel tragedies, many of you are a little more hesitant to fly right now.

“I travel a lot for work, and I have to admit I was extremely nervous this time around, especially with the recent tragedies. I had to say a quick prayer before my flight took off,” Erica Jones said.

Nerves have been heightened for many travelers after the recent airline accidents around the world.

Earlier this year, a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet in Washington D.C., claiming the lives of 67 people.

Less than a month later, a Delta Air Lines passenger jet crash-landed in Toronto, but luckily, all 80 people on board survived.

Then, just days ago, a helicopter departing from UMMC crashed near the Natchez Trace, claiming the lives of all three on board.

With these many accidents and others happening in such a short timespan, those flying Wednesday say it was a great moment when their plane touched down safely.

“It was a sigh of relief. I immediately said a quick prayer and was happy to be back on the ground,” Jones said.

“Definitely a sigh of relief. I feel like anytime there is turbulence, even though most of the time I know there is. I kind of clutch my seat and everything, but definitely a sigh of relief once the wheels touched the ground and we didn’t have to go back up or anything like that,” Ngozi Okanu said.

So it’s impacting how people are feeling about their flights, but are we seeing less air travel due to it?

Well, according to JAN, this year’s Spring Break travel numbers are actually on track with last year’s, with approximately 40,000 passengers flying in and out of the airport.

Still, flyers expect an impact, with some already taking extra precautions in their travels.

“My nephew just informed me he took an 18-hour drive from Colorado instead of flying this past weekend to visit home. So, a lot of my friends have said they are a little more hesitant of flying now, but I’ve been in 3 different airports this weekend, and it was packed as usual during spring break time,” Jones said.

For those of you traveling during the Spring Break period, which ends March 17th, officials ask you to plan accordingly by getting to the airport two hours early and expect a high number of people when you arrive.

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