Sunday After Thanksgiving Becomes Busiest U.S. Air Travel Day in History

Travelers returning home from Thanksgiving festivities set a new record for U.S. air travel on Sunday, as more than three million people passed through TSA checkpoints.

The Transportation Security Agency said it processed 3.09 million outbound travelers on Sunday, six percent higher than the equivalent post-Thanksgiving Sunday in 2023.

That’s despite the holiday period getting off to a slower start: TSA processed 2.6 million outbound passengers on Tuesday and 2.7 million on Wednesday, slightly less than predicted. However, high volumes of passengers the weekend before Thanksgiving suggested that many Americans got a head start on their journeys.

Predicting a Surge in Air Travel

The heavy footfall at the country’s airports on Sunday was little surprise. Speaking at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) near Washington D.C. last week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg predicted that Thanksgiving would “likely be some of the busiest travel days in U.S. history.”

Photo: Courtesy of Washington-Reagan National Airport.

AAA forecasted that 80 million Americans would travel more than 50 miles from their home on Thanksgiving, most by car but a sizeable number by plane.

While many headed to the homes of family members and friends, others used the break for recreation. Cruise bookings were up 20 percent compared to last Thanksgiving, AAA found, and Airbnb revealed that its top domestic booking destinations during the week were getaways in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida.

While these travelers might jet off the weekend before Thanksgiving, most need to be back in the office by Monday, regularly making the Sunday after Thanksgiving the busiest travel day of the year.

Sunday: The Busiest Travel Day of the Year

TSA has recorded all-time records on Sundays following the holiday for three of the last six years.

Photo: Courtesy of Denver International Airport.

And 2024 has been a bumper year for air travel in the U.S. in general. The passenger record broken on Sunday was just months old, set on July 7, when 3.01 million passengers passed through TSA checkpoints on their way to their summer vacations.

In fact, the top 10 busiest days ever at U.S. airports have all been since May.

Smooth Ops Despite Weather Challenges

Last week, TSA said it was well-prepared for the crowds, with staff on duty and a commitment to keep wait times for standard screening lanes to less than a half hour.

Photo: Courtesy of Denver International Airport.

Things ran smoothly at most airports, although the weather wreaked havoc on some plans. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) delayed nearly half (45 percent) of its departures as Michigan was hit by snow, according to data from FlightAware.

Delays were also common at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) with 45 percent, and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) with 31 percent.

Overall, airlines canceled 123 flights on Sunday, a typical number for the season, and delayed 7,000 others.

Courtesy of Stephen M. Keller, 2021

In at least one airport, the high volume of travelers posed its own challenges. On Sunday evening, traffic stood at a standstill on one of two main entrance roads to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), with some passengers still stuck in their cars as their flights took off.

A spokesperson for DFW attributed the congestion to “the high volume of holiday traffic in a compressed time frame” and said the airport had deployed additional police officers.

Looking Ahead: Christmas Travel Challenge

Christmas will be another test for TSA, airports, and airlines. However, the flow of travelers is typically spread out across the two weeks around Christmas and New Year’s, so Sunday’s record isn’t likely to be broken—until next summer.