Labor Day traffic and travel: Busiest times to drive and fly

Labor Day weekend is almost here and travelers across the country are gearing up to head to the airport or hit the highway for the last vacation of the summer.

But be warned: GasBuddy predicts the average gas price will be $4.03 per gallon, which would be the highest Labor Day price on record. Last year on Labor Day, the national average was $3.19 per gallon, according to AAA.

Here's what you need to know about Labor Day travel:

Air travel

The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen more than 17 million people at airports across the U.S. between Thursday, Sept. 3 and Wednesday, Sept. 9.

The top U.S. travel destinations for Labor Day weekend are Seattle, Orlando, Florida, Boston, Denver, and New York City, according to AAA booking data.

United Airlines said it is anticipating a busy Labor Day travel period with about 3.4 million passengers -- roughly 300,000 more than last year. The airline says its busiest days will be Friday, Sept. 4 and Monday, Sept. 7.

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American Airlines said it expects more than 3.5 million travelers between Thursday, Sept. 3 and Tuesday, Sept. 8, with nearly 500,000 million of those passengers traveling through the airline's biggest hub, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. American said its busiest day will be Monday, Sept. 7, followed by Friday, Sept. 4.

Road travel

The biggest travel rush on the roads will be after work on Thursday, Sept. 3, and during the day on Friday, Sept. 4, according to analytics company INRIX.

If you're heading out the door on Sept. 3, the worst traffic is expected to be between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to INRIX, and on Sept. 4, the worst traffic will be from noon to 8 p.m.

If you're planning to drive home on Labor Day itself, the worst time period on the road is expected to be from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., according to INRIX.

ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.