Commercial airlines will get a bit more airspace to work with this Fourth of July holiday.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced Wednesday that the Department of Defense will make some of the military's airspace available off the East Coast during the holiday weekend to help reduce delays for air travelers.

"(The) announcement will help ensure that travelers don't have to celebrate Independence Day by being stuck on an airplane," Peters said in a prepared statement.

The freed-up airspace will allow airlines to plan alternate routes in one of the country's most heavily traveled aviation corridors.

The DOD plans to release the airspace off the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida from 6 p.m. EDT Thursday to 6 a.m. EDT Monday, Peters said.

A similar move was made during the Memorial Day, Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays.

Peters said the military routinely works with the Federal Aviation Administration to release the airspace whenever it isn't being used for military missions.

While the airlines gear up to accommodate passengers, fewer people are expected to take to the air this holiday weekend, according to a AAA report.

Approximately 4.54 million Americans -- 11 percent of holiday travelers -- expect to travel by airplane, a 2.3 percent decrease from the 4.64 million who flew last year. Nearly 1.7 million plan to travel by train, bus or other mode of transportation.

"Clearly gas prices are continuing to take a toll on the traveler's budget, but the travel industry is responding, as they have in the past, with discounts, promotions and other incentives to get people traveling this holiday," AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet.

The greatest number of Fourth of July holiday weekend air travelers is expected to be in the West, with 1.78 million, followed by the Southeast with 813,000; Midwest, 727,000; Northeast, 695,000; and Great Lakes, 518,000.