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Busy travelling times of the year
7 min read

Busy travelling times of the year

The Busiest Days to Travel Around

According to Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New year are the busiest travel days. Many people like to travel in these holidays.

Hence, these are the busiest days at airports, and you won’t even find airport parking on these days. You can book your parking ahead of the holidays with Parkos.

The Third and Fourth of July

Many people take advantage of the long weekend on the fourth of July to travel around. The holiday itself, meanwhile, can be a hassle to travel on. It’s important to plan ahead and allow plenty of time for your journey.

Due to the high volume of people attempting to travel on this day, air travel frequently has difficulties. Therefore, it is imperative to be ready for any potential delays.

Thanksgiving

One of the busiest travel days of the year is the Thanksgiving holiday, and with good reason. To celebrate, families travel from all over, and many individuals take the day off of work or school. As a result, vacation travelers frequently fill airports and highways.

However, it might not be as difficult as you think to fly on Thanksgiving Day.

According to TSA, the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest day to fly. In addition, Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving are also very busy days. On the Sunday following Thanksgiving in 2019, approximately 2.9 million passengers traveled through TSA checkpoints.

Therefore, passengers have to strictly follow TSA travel requirements on the busy days of Thanksgiving to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Christmas and New Year’s Eve

When we talk about the busiest days to fly, we can’t exclude Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Because the holidays are a time for family, many people will be traveling during this time.

Given that the holiday is celebrated on a different weekday every year so travel patterns change each year. Christmas airport crowds can be more difficult to forecast than Thanksgiving crowds.

However, the days right after Christmas are extremely popular, much like how the Sunday following Thanksgiving frequently draws large crowds.

In 2019, on December 17 (one week before Christmas), 2.6 million passengers passed through TSA checkpoints, the highest recorded volume. Christmas Eve saw 2.58 million travelers, and the day after Christmas saw 2.57 million.

Busy airport

How to choose less busy and cheaper days for traveling?

The best approach to avoid crowds is frequently to travel on the actual holiday. If you take the morning’s first flight, you might make it in time for the evening’s celebrations. The likelihood of a flight delay can be decreased by booking early tickets.

According to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in the first eight months of 2022, 7.3% of flights were delayed because an aircraft arrived late. Flying as long before or after a holiday may make sense if you can take the time off from work.

According to airline data from a travel search engine, travelers can save an average of 15% by leaving the first half of the week. The average cost of a ticket is 15% less on Mondays before Thanksgiving than on Wednesdays.

These security expediting services have never been more useful than they are on holidays. TSA PreCheck recently lowered the cost of a five-year membership from $85 to $78; renewal is now only $70. Each year, Clear costs $189.

For speedier customs screening upon arrival in the United States, international travelers can think about the $100 Global Entry.