Travelers trying to beat the Memorial Day rush are seeing flight delays and higher prices (UPDATED)

The patience of Memorial Day weekend travelers was tested Thursday by widespread delays across the country, but there were relatively few canceled flights, raising hopes that airlines can handle bigger crowds expected Friday. By early evening on the East Coast, more than 6,000 flights had been delayed Thursday, with the biggest backups at the three major airports in the New York City area and Dallas-Fort Worth International. The Transportation Security Administration predicted that Friday will be the busiest day for air travel over the holiday weekend, with nearly 3 million people expected to pass through airport checkpoints. It could rival the record of 2.9 million, set on the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year. "Airports are going to be more packed than we have seen in 20 years," said Aixa Diaz, a spokesperson for AAA. When they aren't waiting out flight delays, travelers are reporting sticker shock at the prices. At Chicago's O'Hare Airport, Larisa Latimer of New Lenox, Illinois, said her airfare was reasonable but other expenses for a getaway to New Orleans were not. "I just have to make the accommodation," she said. "The rental car is up ... this year, the hotel accommodations were very unusually expensive." Kathy Larko of Fort Meyers, Florida, used frequent-flyer miles — and some flexible scheduling — to pay for her trip to Chicago. "I'm really conscious of looking at the cost of the entire trip. We're staying a little farther out than we normally would" to get a lower hotel rate, she said. "We're also flying back a day later, because we could get cheaper miles." More travelers will be on the road. AAA estimates that 43.8 million people will venture at least 50 miles (80 kilometers) from home between Thursday and Monday, with 38 million of them taking vehicles. Airport unions are using the holiday weekend to highlight their demands. About 100 workers who clean airplane cabins and drive trash trucks at the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, started a 24-hour strike Thursday, demanding better pay and healthcare, according to the Service Employees International Union. About 15% of flights were delayed, but it was unclear whether the strike played any role. A planned strike at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York was averted, however. Teamsters Local 553, which represents about 300 workers who refuel passenger and cargo jets at JFK, said that it reached a settlement with Allied Aviation Services and called off a walkout planned for Friday. "We are happy an agreement has been reached, a need for a strike averted, and we are hopeful that the deal will be ratified by our members," said Demos Demopoulos, the secretary-treasurer of the local. Associated Press video journalist Melissa Perez Winder in Chicago and Associated Press radio reporter Shelley Adler in Washington contributed to this report.