These Will Be the Busiest Airports in the U.S. Next Week, According to Hopper

Atlanta will have the busiest airport in the United States over the holiday period with more than 1.5 million travelers booked to fly.

The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) — consistently named the busiest airport in the world — will see 1.58 million seats scheduled to depart, topping the list of all airports in the country, according to data from Hopper that was shared with Travel + Leisure. The most crowded time to depart the airport will be during the mornings from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The prediction comes during a record-setting holiday travel period during which Hopper said 32.5 million seats are currently scheduled to depart from U.S airports between Monday, Dec. 23, and New Year’s Day. That represents a 2.4 percent increase compared to last year.

“Unlike Thanksgiving week, there isn’t a single busiest day to travel, with most days between Christmas and the New Year expecting to see high volumes of travelers,” Hayley Berg, Hopper’s lead economist, wrote in a report. “To avoid the crowds this year, plan to travel on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and again over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.”

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) will be the second-busiest airport in the U.S. with 1.35 million seats scheduled to depart, followed by Denver International Airport (DEN) with 1.33 million seats scheduled to depart, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with 1.26 million seats scheduled to depart, and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) with 1.22 million seats scheduled to depart. For each of these airports, mornings are expected to be the busiest from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

That’s not the case for the Orlando International Airport (MCO), New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), or Miami International Airport (MIA), when the evenings from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. are expected to be the busiest. Those airports came in at No. 6, No. 7, and No. 8 on the list of busiest airports, respectively. 

Overall, Monday, Dec. 23, Thursday, Dec. 26, Friday, Dec. 27, Sunday, Dec. 29, and Monday, Dec. 30 are expected to be the most crowded with about 3.5 million passengers departing from U.S. airports each day.

To help get through crowded terminals, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recommends travelers arrive at the airport early, know ahead of time what they can and can’t bring through security, and consider packing gifts in gift bags or boxes instead of wrapping paper to avoid messing them up if an officer needs to inspect them.