The busiest travel days at US airports, from TSA checkpoint numbers
Published by FlyingOver Editorial Team · Last checked:
The busiest day ever at US airport security was Sunday, November 30, 2025 (Sunday after Thanksgiving), when TSA screened 3,134,613 people. 10 days have passed 3 million. So far in 2026, the busiest day was Thursday, June 18, 2026, with 2,988,204. Thanksgiving 2026 is on Thursday, November 26, 2026.
These are TSA's daily counts of people screened at airport checkpoints nationwide. TSA updates them every weekday, so they show how busy US airports are almost in real time.
The 10 busiest days at US airport security
| Rank | Date | Holiday period | People screened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunday, November 30, 2025 | Sunday after Thanksgiving | 3,134,613 |
| 2 | Sunday, June 22, 2025 | — | 3,096,797 |
| 3 | Sunday, December 1, 2024 | Sunday after Thanksgiving | 3,088,836 |
| 4 | Sunday, July 20, 2025 | — | 3,043,973 |
| 5 | Sunday, July 6, 2025 | Fourth of July holiday | 3,041,954 |
| 6 | Sunday, July 27, 2025 | — | 3,017,861 |
| 7 | Friday, October 10, 2025 | — | 3,017,612 |
| 8 | Sunday, July 7, 2024 | Fourth of July holiday | 3,013,622 |
| 9 | Friday, May 23, 2025 | Memorial Day weekend | 3,010,183 |
| 10 | Sunday, July 13, 2025 | — | 3,007,773 |
Thanksgiving week, day by day
In 2025, the busiest day of Thanksgiving week was the Sunday after Thanksgiving (3,134,613) and the quietest was Thanksgiving Day (1,559,165). Compared with the same days a year earlier:
| Day | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday before Thanksgiving | Nov 25: 2,675,261 | Nov 26: 2,694,504 | -0.7% |
| Wednesday before Thanksgiving | Nov 26: 2,753,036 | Nov 27: 2,726,845 | +1.0% |
| Thanksgiving Day | Nov 27: 1,559,165 | Nov 28: 1,551,896 | +0.5% |
| Friday after Thanksgiving | Nov 28: 2,392,036 | Nov 29: 2,377,911 | +0.6% |
| Saturday after Thanksgiving | Nov 29: 2,696,816 | Nov 30: 2,811,101 | -4.1% |
| Sunday after Thanksgiving | Nov 30: 3,134,613 | Dec 1: 3,088,836 | +1.5% |
| Monday after Thanksgiving | Dec 1: 2,893,451 | Dec 2: 2,829,000 | +2.3% |
Thanksgiving 2026: the same days this year
If the pattern holds, these are the days to plan around. The numbers are what TSA screened on the same day of Thanksgiving week in 2025, not a forecast.
| Day | Date in 2026 | Screened on that day in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday before Thanksgiving | Tuesday, November 24, 2026 | 2,675,261 |
| Wednesday before Thanksgiving | Wednesday, November 25, 2026 | 2,753,036 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thursday, November 26, 2026 | 1,559,165 |
| Friday after Thanksgiving | Friday, November 27, 2026 | 2,392,036 |
| Saturday after Thanksgiving | Saturday, November 28, 2026 | 2,696,816 |
| Sunday after Thanksgiving | Sunday, November 29, 2026 | 3,134,613 |
| Monday after Thanksgiving | Monday, November 30, 2026 | 2,893,451 |
The busiest days of the week
Average number of people screened by day of the week, over the 52 weeks to September 15, 2026:
| Day | Average screened |
|---|---|
| Sunday | 2,700,950 |
| Friday | 2,669,495 |
| Thursday | 2,638,902 |
| Monday | 2,596,687 |
| Wednesday | 2,283,122 |
| Saturday | 2,250,287 |
| Tuesday | 2,169,291 |
2026 compared with 2025
| Month | 2026 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65,860,911 | 65,777,233 | +0.1% |
| February | 64,256,259 | 62,590,333 | +2.7% |
| March | 78,543,126 | 77,229,641 | +1.7% |
| April | 74,252,627 | 74,206,261 | +0.1% |
| May | 78,779,311 | 79,363,092 | -0.7% |
| June | 80,731,354 | 81,756,504 | -1.3% |
| July | 83,340,163 | 85,093,035 | -2.1% |
| August | 76,792,367 | 80,331,071 | -4.4% |
What this means for your trip
- Busy days mean longer lines everywhere: security, check-in, and the gate area. On a connection, arriving at a busy hub on a record day leaves less slack. Read is a 1-hour layover enough?
- Delays pile up on busy days too. See the US airport on-time ranking for which airports run late most often, and ground stops for how bad weather on a busy day spreads.
- Flying back from abroad? Passport control has its own lines; see US customs wait times by airport.
About the data
- Source: TSA publishes the number of people it screened nationwide each day, updated Monday through Friday by 9 a.m.; numbers in holiday weeks can arrive a little later.
- What it counts: people screened at TSA checkpoints, not flights or seats, and not passengers who connect without being screened again.
- Holiday labels are computed from the calendar: Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November.
To cite this page: FlyingOver analysis of TSA checkpoint travel numbers, 2019–2026, flyingover.app/guides/busiest-travel-days-us.
Add your flights to FlyingOver before you travel: you'll see status and gate changes while you're online and follow your flight offline in the air.
Sources
- Transportation Security Administration, TSA checkpoint travel numbers: Number of people screened at TSA checkpoints nationwide each day, 2019 to 2026-09-15; updated Monday through Friday by 9 a.m., sometimes later in holiday weeks. (September 17, 2026)
This article was written based on official sources (see sources). These sources may change over time, and the article may not be updated, so we recommend checking directly with the source or the airline.
Related guides
- Most delayed US airports: on-time ranking, updated monthlyOn-time arrivals, departures and cancellations at the 30 busiest US airports over the last 12 months and in June 2026, from federal flight data.
- US customs wait times by airport: passport control linesAverage passport control wait times at US international airports, for US citizens and visitors, by hour and month, from CBP data. Updated monthly.
- Is a 1-hour layover enough? How to tell before you bookWhen a 45-minute or 1-hour layover works in the US, when it doesn't, and the questions to ask about terminals, customs, bags and separate tickets.
- Can a delayed flight make up time in the air?When a late departure can still arrive close to on time, how the jet stream speeds up eastbound flights, and why schedules and ground delays matter more.
- Connecting in Canada to the US: preclearance explainedHow US preclearance at Canadian airports works when you connect to a US flight, what it saves you on arrival, and Canada's new Free Flow for connections.