Sunday After Thanksgiving Expected To Be U.S. Carriers' Busiest Travel Day Ever

Airlines for America (A4A) expects a record 31.6 million passengers to travel aboard U.S. carriers worldwide during the 12-day Thanksgiving travel period, a 3.7 percent increase over last year. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Dec. 1, is poised to be the busiest travel day ever for the U.S. airline industry, with 3.1 million passengers expected.

"The popularity of air travel continues to soar this holiday season, as airlines and airports alike continue to invest billions of dollars into improving the quality of the experience and the efficiency of their operations," said A4A Vice President and Chief Economist John Heimlich (pictured).

A4A is projecting U.S. airlines will carry an average of 2.63 million passengers per day during the Thanksgiving travel period, which extends from Friday, Nov. 22 to Tuesday Dec. 3. In addition to the record 3.1 million passengers expected on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2.98 million passengers are expected on Wednesday, Nov. 27, and 2.96 million on Friday, Nov. 22. Thanksgiving Day itself, Nov. 28, is projected to be one of the lightest days of the year, with only 1.79 million passengers. Compared with the 2018 Thanksgiving travel period, U.S. airlines will operate 859 more flights per day, adding 108,000 daily seats to their schedules, to accommodate the additional 93,000 daily passengers expected.

(Source: A4A news release. Image provided)

FMI: www.airlines.org