Record 122 Million Travelers Expected During Busiest Holiday Season
Key Points
- 1Over 122 million people are projected to travel during the holiday period from December 20 to January 1, a 2.2% increase from the previous record.
- 2Domestic air travel is expected to reach 8.03 million passengers, with Southern California, Florida, and Hawaii topping the destination list.
- 3United Airlines anticipates December 27 will be its busiest day, while American Airlines forecasts peak operations on December 19 and January 4.
- 4Road travel accounts for 109.5 million travelers, with the weekend before Christmas and December 26 projected to be the most congested days.
The 2025 Christmas and New Year’s holiday period is projected to be the busiest travel season on record, with AAA forecasting that more than 122 million people will travel between December 20 and January 1. This figure represents a 2.2% increase over the previous year’s record high of 119.7 million travelers, placing significant pressure on both the US air and road transportation networks.
Commercial aviation is set to handle 8.03 million domestic passengers during this period, marking a 2.3% rise from the prior year. AAA booking data indicates that travelers are prioritizing warm-weather destinations, with Florida, Southern California, and Hawaii leading the list of top domestic destinations. Major carriers are preparing for peak loads; United Airlines expects its busiest winter holiday season ever, predicting Saturday, December 27, will be its most crowded day. Similarly, American Airlines is planning for high operational tempos, anticipating four flights to depart every minute between December 18 and January 5, with peak days projected for Friday, December 19, and Sunday, January 4.
Road travel remains the dominant mode, with approximately 109.5 million people forecast to travel by car, a 2% increase year-over-year. Analytics company INRIX advises that the weekend before Christmas (December 20 and 21) and the day after Christmas (Friday, December 26) are expected to experience the heaviest traffic congestion. Conversely, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, both falling on Thursdays, are anticipated to be the quietest days for road travel.
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