by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:45 AM ET, Tue November 19, 2019
Research from Airlines for America (A4A) indicates a record 31.6 million passengers will travel aboard airlines based in the United States during the 12-day Thanksgiving travel period.
In addition to the 3.7 percent increase in passengers compared to last year, A4A also revealed that 3.1 million passengers are expected to hit the skies on the Sunday after Thanksgiving (December 1), which would be the busiest travel day ever recorded.
In total, A4A is projecting carriers in the U.S. will carry an average of 2.63 million passengers per day during the holiday travel period, which extends from Friday, November 22 through Tuesday, December 3.
"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," A4A Vice President John Heimlich said in a statement.
While the Sunday after Thanksgiving is expected to break records and Wednesday, November 27 and Friday, November 22 are expected to be very busy, Thanksgiving Day itself (November 28) is projected to be one of the lightest travel days of the year.
To accommodate the expected influx of around 93,000 additional travelers per day, airlines in the U.S., will operate 859 more flights per day and add 108,000 daily seats to their schedules
A4A isn't the only organization preparing for a busy holiday, as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) revealed it expects an estimated 26.8 million airline passengers to travel through security screening checkpoints nationwide between November 22 and December 2.
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