Do people travel a lot on Christmas?

As far as winter travel dates go, December 24 is one of the lightest. December 25 - Like Christmas Eve, this major holiday is customarily a family day, not one for travel. The 25th might be the slowest day for air travel this winter. If you get creative with your holiday plans, you're sure to avoid airport crowds.



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40% of Americans plan to travel for the December holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa).29% plan to travel for Thanksgiving.19% plan to travel for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.

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With Christmas, trend lines are more opaque because the holiday is on a different day of the week every year. Christmas in 2023 falls on a Monday. So, while Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to be the best days to fly (meaning lower costs and smaller crowds), this year Tuesday, Dec. 26, might be unusually busy.

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The Sunday after Thanksgiving is brutal for airport crowds. Last year, about 83% more people flew on the Sunday after Thanksgiving than on Thanksgiving Day, according to TSA data, making it the busiest travel day of 2022. That same Sunday was also the year's single busiest airport travel day in both 2019 and 2021.

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Because winter breaks are a bit more spread out, you have many more affordable options when it comes to Christmastime travel. Based on Hipmunk's historical data, departing on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve makes for the most inexpensive flights, with median round-trip prices for domestic flights under $400.

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When is the Busiest Day to Travel? Find Out!
  • The day before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Day. The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest travel days of the year, and for a good reason. ...
  • Christmas Eve and New Year's day. ...
  • Weekends. ...
  • Mondays. ...
  • The third and fourth of July.


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As far as busy travel days ahead of the holiday, expect the preceding Friday (Dec. 22 this year) to be among the worst days to fly ahead of Christmas.

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Indeed, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts that the global travel and tourism sector will reach US$9.5 trillion in 2023 — just 5% below 2019 pre-pandemic levels. The positive summer travel outlook is echoed by data from J.P. Morgan Research.

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