Atlanta Airport Blog
Atlanta Airport Blog

More than 47 million passengers expected to fly on U.S. airlines over holiday period

<p>Travelers wait in long lines to get to the security checkpoint at <span class="wsc-spelling-problem" data-spelling-word="Hartsfield-Jackson" data-wsc-lang="en_US">Hartsfield-Jackson</span> International Airport on Sunday on what is expected to set a record travel day.&nbsp;(Photo: STEVE SCHAEFER / SPECIAL TO THE <span class="wsc-spelling-problem" data-spelling-word="AJC" data-wsc-lang="en_US">AJC</span>)</p>
<p>Travelers wait in long lines to get to the security checkpoint at <span class="wsc-spelling-problem" data-spelling-word="Hartsfield-Jackson" data-wsc-lang="en_US">Hartsfield-Jackson</span> International Airport on Sunday on what is expected to set a record travel day.&nbsp;(Photo: STEVE SCHAEFER / SPECIAL TO THE <span class="wsc-spelling-problem" data-spelling-word="AJC" data-wsc-lang="en_US">AJC</span>)</p>
By
Dec 10, 2019

An estimated 47.5 million passengers are forecast to fly on U.S. airlines over the holiday period, according to industry group Airlines for America.

Explore>>Tips for traveling through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

The airline association says the busy travel period starts Thursday Dec. 19 and runs through Sunday Jan. 5. The number of passengers expected to travel daily is up 3 percent from a year ago, and averages 2.6 million passengers a day.

The busiest days are expected to be Friday Dec. 20, Saturday Dec. 21, Friday Dec. 27 and Thursday Dec. 26.

The least busy days are expected to be Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and Christmas Day.

The busiest day on record nationally for the Transportation Security Administration was Dec. 1 this year, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when TSA screened more than 2.8 million travelers.

About the Author

As business team lead, Kelly Yamanouchi edits and writes business stories. She graduated from Harvard and has a master's degree from Northwestern.

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