Thanksgiving week attracts main airport crowds, so it may be a brutal time to journey. And in 2024, the variety of passengers screened in U.S. airports has already reached all-time highs a number of instances. As a result of the Sunday after Thanksgiving is normally the busiest airport day of the complete yr, it’s probably the 2024 Thanksgiving week may even break data.
However some days inside Thanksgiving week are considerably busier at airports than others. Should you may be versatile with scheduling, you’ll lower your expenses and keep away from chaos.
The most effective and worst days to fly round Thanksgiving
NerdWallet analyzed checkpoint journey numbers from 2021 to 2023 supplied by the Transportation Safety Administration, which tracks the variety of passengers screened day by day at U.S. airport checkpoints.
For the interval from the Thursday earlier than to the Thursday after Thanksgiving, the information exhibits that the Sunday after Thanksgiving is probably the most crowded day to fly. In the meantime, the least crowded journey day at airports throughout that point interval is Thanksgiving Day.
Listed below are the three least-crowded days to journey each earlier than and after Thanksgiving, ranked from least to most crowded. As a result of they’re much less crowded and certain cheaper, it makes them a few of the greatest days to fly round Thanksgiving.
Pre-holiday:
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Saturday earlier than (least crowded).
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Monday earlier than.
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Thursday earlier than.
Publish-holiday:
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Wednesday after (least crowded).
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Tuesday after.
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Black Friday.
Why flying the Sunday after Thanksgiving is so horrible
The Sunday after Thanksgiving is just about the worst day of the yr to fly. In 2021, 2022 and 2023 it was the busiest single day of the complete yr at U.S. airports, based mostly on TSA passenger knowledge.
Final yr, greater than 2.9 million folks crossed by U.S. airport safety checkpoints on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Examine that to Thanksgiving Day, when simply 1.5 million folks (barely greater than half of Sunday’s figures) have been at an airport.
The smarter, cheaper Thanksgiving weekend itinerary
Should you work a regular Monday to Friday workweek with two days off for the vacation, then leaving Wednesday after work and flying dwelling on Sunday could make sense. Most individuals following this schedule to keep away from taking further time without work. However this itinerary might value you more cash, as a result of the busiest days to fly are normally the most costly, too.
So how are you going to select a greater Thanksgiving journey itinerary to economize? Keep away from the Wednesday to Sunday itinerary and check out these journey days as an alternative.
Journey on Thanksgiving Day
Throughout journey days for the week earlier than and after Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day was the lowest-traffic day yearly in our evaluation. Guide the primary flight out for the day — a apply NerdWallet recommends anyway to scale back your odds of a flight delay — and also you may even land in time for Thanksgiving dinner.
Keep longer
Take into account extending your journey. The Wednesday after Thanksgiving is, on common, the least busy day to journey post-holiday, among the many days we checked out in our evaluation. Particularly for those who can work remotely, you may have the ability to keep away from taking trip days, regardless of the longer journey.
Fly on Black Friday
Should you should journey throughout the weekend, take into account having Thanksgiving dinner at your personal dwelling, then flying someplace on Black Friday, which is the third-least crowded day to fly on common. Take a look at it as an effective way to not solely keep away from airport crowds but in addition retail crowds because you received’t be out procuring.
