With holiday travel officially upon us, knowing the season’s busiest days and what to expect from them will help you be more prepared.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said in a November 19 published press release that it’s anticipating the busiest Thanksgiving travel season on record. The agency predicts that the busiest travel days will be Tuesday, November 26, Wednesday, November 27, and Sunday, December 1. Airport security expects to screen anywhere from 2.8 million to over 3 million travelers at U.S. airports on those days.
The TSA estimates a 6% increase in foot traffic from November 26 to December 2 this year compared to last. Moreover, the expected 18.3 million travelers to pass through security for Thanksgiving is a 17% increase from 2022.
Regarding Christmas, Expedia’s 2024 Holiday Travel Outlook reported that the busiest and most expensive travel days will be the Friday through Sunday before (December 20 through December 22) and Thursday, December 26. The online travel booking platform based its information on its website’s flight demand for Christmas travel in 2023 and 2022.
The TSA’s passenger volumes documented the busiest end-of-year travel days after Christmas and around New Year’s for 2023 going into 2024. For last holiday season, December 26, December 27, December 30, and January 2 were the busiest travel days. Based on that information, travelers could anticipate that this year, the two days after Christmas, which will be a Thursday and Friday, could be busy.
Keep in mind that New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day will be on a Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, this festive season. Planning your holiday travel around that information could help you decide the most convenient days to fly.
What Else Should Travelers Know About This Year’s Busiest Anticipated Travel Days?
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas says, “This holiday season is expected to be one of the busiest travel periods on record.”
“As we approach Thanksgiving, TSA is ready to accommodate record passenger volumes,” noted TSA Administrator David Pekoske, in the agency’s Turkey Day press release. “The 10 busiest travel days in TSA’s history have all occurred in 2024, and we anticipate that trend to continue. Working alongside our airport and airline partners and the FAA, we have optimized staffing and will do our best to maintain our wait time standards: less than 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck lanes and less than 30 minutes for standard screening lanes.”
