According to travel data from Hopper, this holiday season is set to be yet another record-breaking one. Between December 23 and New Year’s Day, more than 32.5 million seats are booked to leave U.S. airports, a 2.4% increase over last year. While Thanksgiving is all about a single day of travel madness, the stretch between Christmas and New Year’s spreads the chaos across several days. So which airport is expected to be the busiest? That title goes to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Hartsfield-Jackson consistently ranks at the top of the world’s busiest airports, so it’s no surprise that it’s set to be the busiest during the holidays, with a staggering 1.58 million seats scheduled to depart.
If you haven’t secured your flights yet, Hopper’s lead economist Hayley Berg suggests flying on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day to dodge the crowds.
Following ATL on the busy list are Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (1.35 million seats), Denver International (1.33 million), Los Angeles International (1.26 million) and Chicago O’Hare (1.22 million). The morning is expected to see the biggest rush. If you’re headed to Orlando, JFK or Miami, however, the rush shifts to the evenings between 4pm and 8pm.
Peak days for all airports include December 23, 26, 27, 29 and 30, with about 3.5 million passengers jetting off daily.
TSA is chiming in with its usual recommendations: arrive early, only pack what’s allowed and save the gift wrapping for when you arrive. Security lines may be long, but if you follow the rules then it will be smooth sailing to the gate.