Experts predict the busiest air travel day in the US is coming next week

THERE’S a big travel day coming up in the United States — but it may not be the one you think.

With the Fourth of July holiday, millions of Americans are taking to the skies — and one day in the coming week will be the busiest for air travel this year.

Natural World Safaris revealed new data about the increased rate of travel in 2024, predicting that the busiest travel day ever is coming up.

They said July 4th is “often the quietest travel day” around the holiday.

They said that the last busiest day on record was Friday, May 24, 2023.

It was right before Memorial Day weekend, and 2,951,163 passengers passed through U.S.-based airports.

But this year, it’s expected to be later.

PREDICTION PICK

Sunday, July 7th is now predicted to set a record for 2024.

There is usually a spike in air travel around the Fourth of July as it is a pretty popular holiday full of festivities.

This year, the holiday is on a Thursday, kicking off a four-day weekend.

The experts analyzed past TSA data from 2019 when July 4th last fell on a Thursday and saw that the Sunday after the holiday was the busiest day during this period.

They said that “TSA screened 2,795,369 passengers, making this a 33.82% increase from July 4th to Sunday 7th.”

POTENTIAL PASSENGERS

Will Bolsover, Founder and CEO at Natural World Safaris, offered insight into the results.

“Often increased passenger numbers can lead to severe delays if airports are not correctly primed to handle such a big influx of travelers,” he said.

“This, coupled with an increased number of travelers jetting off on their summer holidays and a year of unprecedented storms will make air travel all the harder and more unpredictable for travelers. “

Natural World Safaris experts said that they “anticipate a moderate increase in passenger numbers for July 7th, 2024, compared to 2019.”

Considering these factors, they projected that the number of TSA passengers for July 7th, 2024 “falls within the range of approximately 2,934,137 to 3,074,906.”

This is more than any other day around the holidays.

Like five years ago, July 7th could see around three million people traveling through American airports.

TRAVEL TIPS

Bolsover also offered tips on how travelers can best prepare ahead of time.

“I’d suggest trying to only travel with a carry-on bag if you can, as this will make your check-in experience much quicker,” he said.

Also, he encouraged people to arrive at the airport much earlier than you think.

“While it can be annoying to wait around for hours before your flight, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Arriving early will allow for additional wait times to check in and at security,” he explained.

Bolsover also suggested monitoring the weather beforehand and paying attention to the National Weather Service “to see if you’re set to hit any travel disruptions.”

“It’s not just cold weather that can hinder you but also storms which are often caused by an influx of hot weather,” he said.

If you’re aware of any potential problems in advance, you can easily figure out a solution.