Summary
- The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day, followed by the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
- Atlanta beats out several larger metro areas as the busiest airport for both holidays due to a large number of connecting passengers.
Long lines at the airport have been plaguing travelers all year long. We know the holiday season is one of the busiest times for travelers so our team decided to analyze what this year’s Thanksgiving and Christmas air travel patterns will look like.
Thanksgiving
Figure 1: Busiest travel days during Thanksgiving week, based on scheduled passenger departures. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is busiest, followed by the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
| Rank | Airport | City | Total Passengers Departing During Thanksgiving Week | Busiest Time of Day (Local Time) |
| 1 | ATL | Atlanta | 1,382,846 | 8:40 a.m. |
| 2 | LAX | Los Angeles | 1,134,894 | 9:00 a.m. |
| 3 | ORD | Chicago | 1,020,476 | 8:00 a.m. |
| 4 | DFW | Dallas | 850,314 | 5:30 p.m. |
| 5 | JFK | New York City | 837,078 | 5:30 p.m. |
| 6 | DEN | Denver | 772,831 | 10:20 a.m. |
| 7 | SFO | San Francisco | 745,123 | 9:40 a.m. |
| 8 | LAS | Las Vegas | 636,132 | 12:00 p.m. |
| 9 | CLT | Charlotte | 623,829 | 8:30 a.m. |
| 10 | PHX | Phoenix | 613,433 | 8:50 a.m. |
| 11 | MIA | Miami | 609,782 | 4:00 p.m. |
| 12 | SEA | Seattle | 589,451 | 10:40 a.m. |
| 13 | MCO | Orlando | 578,316 | 10:50 a.m. |
| 14 | EWR | Newark | 569,967 | 4:20 p.m. |
| 15 | IAH | Houston | 557,786 | 2:00 p.m. |
| 16 | BOS | Boston | 498,827 | 6:00 a.m. |
| 17 | MSP | Minneapolis | 466,675 | 6:30 p.m. |
| 18 | DTW | Detroit | 464,338 | 6:50 p.m. |
| 19 | FLL | Fort Lauderdale | 449,863 | 7:20 p.m. |
| 20 | LGA | New York City | 417,180 | 8:30 a.m. |
| 21 | PHL | Philadelphia | 392,102 | 4:50 p.m. |
| 22 | BWI | Baltimore | 386,796 | 7:10 a.m. |
| 23 | DCA | Washington D.C. | 321,346 | 4:10 p.m. |
| 24 | MDW | Chicago | 319,357 | 7:20 a.m. |
| 25 | IAD | Washington D.C. | 300,393 | 4:10 p.m. |
Table 1: The busiest airports for Thanksgiving week, based on the volume of scheduled departures.
Atlanta beats out several larger metro areas due to a large number of connecting passengers. The busiest time of day is when we expect the longest lines at check-in and security.
The blue lines in the graphs below show the expected number of passengers navigating the airport at different times of day for each of the top 25 airports, assuming that passengers arrive an average of an hour before a domestic flight, and two hours before an international flight. The red mark indicates the busiest time of day. Some airports have a relatively flat distribution. For example, Atlanta is always busy, with morning a little busier than usual. Whereas others airports have strong daily cycles, For example, Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is more than three times busier than usual around 4pm.
Figure 2: When to expect the busiest lines during Thanksgiving week
Christmas
Figure 3: The busiest travel days during the winter holidays week, based on scheduled passenger departures. Capacity is fairly flat, except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
| Rank | Airport | City | Total Passengers Departing During Winter Holiday Period | Busiest Time of Day (Local Time) |
| 1 | ATL | Atlanta | 1,986,695 | 8:40 a.m. |
| 2 | LAX | Los Angeles | 1,809,847 | 9:00 a.m. |
| 3 | ORD | Chicago | 1,495,117 | 8:00 a.m. |
| 4 | DFW | Dallas | 1,348,236 | 5:40 p.m. |
| 5 | JFK | New York City | 1,338,125 | 7:00 a.m. |
| 6 | DEN | Denver | 1,215,534 | 9:10 a.m. |
| 7 | SFO | San Francisco | 1,137,264 | 9:40 a.m. |
| 8 | PHX | Phoenix | 1,010,513 | 9:40 a.m. |
| 9 | MIA | Miami | 1,006,781 | 4:10 p.m. |
| 10 | CLT | Charlotte | 980,921 | 7:00 p.m. |
| 11 | SEA | Seattle | 932,643 | 10:30 a.m. |
| 12 | LAS | Las Vegas | 910,520 | 12:00 p.m. |
| 13 | MCO | Orlando | 907,879 | 10:50 a.m. |
| 14 | IAH | Houston | 889,655 | 8:00 a.m. |
| 15 | EWR | Newark | 865,143 | 7:00 a.m. |
| 16 | MSP | Minneapolis | 748,179 | 6:30 p.m. |
| 17 | FLL | Fort Lauderdale | 745,966 | 9:00 a.m. |
| 18 | BOS | Boston | 734,828 | 6:00 a.m. |
| 19 | DTW | Detroit | 684,497 | 6:50 p.m. |
| 20 | PHL | Philadelphia | 646,736 | 4:50 p.m. |
| 21 | LGA | New York City | 634,763 | 8:30 a.m. |
| 22 | BWI | Baltimore | 574,674 | 7:20 a.m. |
| 23 | MDW | Chicago | 482,977 | 7:00 a.m. |
| 24 | SLC | Salt Lake City | 478,400 | 10:00 a.m. |
| 25 | DCA | Washington D.C. | 475,656 | 7:30 a.m. |
Table 2: The busiest airports for the winter holiday period, based on the volume of scheduled departures.
Atlanta beats out several larger metro areas due to the large number of connecting passengers. The busiest time of day is when we expect the longest lines at check-in and security.
The blue lines in the graphs below shows the expected number of passengers navigating the airport at different times of day for each of the top 25 airports, assuming that passengers arrive an average of an hour before a domestic flight, and two hours before an international flight. The red mark indicates the busiest time of day. Some airports have a relatively flat distribution like Atlanta which is always busy, with morning a little busier than usual. Whereas others airports have strong daily cycles such as Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) which varies much more throughout the day.