Holiday Travel: When to Fly for Thanksgiving & Christmas

The exact best and worst days to fly during the holidays, based on historical data.

Thanksgiving

Best days to fly out: The Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The Wednesday rush is real — avoid it if you can.

Best days to return: The Monday after (not Sunday — everyone returns Sunday). Saturday is also good.

Christmas / New Year

Best days to fly out: December 23rd is surprisingly decent. December 22nd is packed. December 24th is empty but risky for weather.

Best days to return: January 2nd or 3rd. New Year's Day is empty but limited schedules. December 26th is packed with returns.

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Data source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) On-Time Performance dataset. Statistics are based on reported flight data from 2019 through November 2025 and are not real-time. See our data methodology for details.