U.S. Airlines Ramp Up for Record Thanksgiving Travel in 2025

U.S. airlines are gearing up for record capacity over Thanksgiving 2025, with more than 31 million passengers expected to fly between November 21 and December 1, an all‑time high according to industry group Airlines for America (A4A). The stretch includes some of the busiest travel days of the year and will test a national aviation system that only recently emerged from heavy disruption tied to a 43‑day federal government shutdown.

Overall capacity and flight counts

• Domestic seat capacity for the week of November 24 has reached 20.33 million, slightly higher than the 20.08 million seats offered last year and well above the 18.3 million seats flown during Thanksgiving week in 2019.
• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expects over 360,000 flights in the holiday period.
• The single busiest day is forecast for Tuesday, November 25, when more than 52,000 flights are scheduled to operate.

Airline statement and traveler guidance

“We’re all looking forward to going home for the holidays. Our carriers have been working to fully prepare for what’s expected to be a record-breaking Thanksgiving,” Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu said on November 20.
“We’re grateful for all aviation employees who work tirelessly to get you home safely for the holidays. With airports expected to be busy, we ask all passengers to allow for extra travel time, pack their patience and carry-on kindness this holiday season.”

Sununu’s message underscores both the operational scale and the human effort required to handle the peak travel period. Airports and carriers are urging passengers to plan ahead and allow extra time.

How airlines are adding capacity

To reach this record capacity, carriers have taken several steps:

• Added about 45,000 more seats per day compared with 2024.
• Reintroduced wide‑body aircraft on some dense domestic routes (e.g., New York–Los Angeles, Chicago–Phoenix) to move more people per departure.
• Increased reserve staff and spare-aircraft availability at several major carriers.

These larger jets, normally used on long‑haul international services, let airlines shift thousands more passengers per flight during peak days.

Market share and notable capacity changes

Domestic seat share this Thanksgiving week:

Notable carrier moves:

• Breeze Airways: +34% capacity vs. last year’s Thanksgiving week.
• Southwest: added 200,000 more seats overall.
• United Airlines: added 37,000 seats (a 9% year‑on‑year increase) and boosted its pool of reserve crews.
• Spirit Airlines: reduced presence as part of a major restructuring (share fell from 4.3% to 2.6%).

Major hubs and busiest routes

Top airports by domestic outbound seats this week:

• Measured by departures, Chicago O’Hare leads with 7,053 domestic departure flights over the period.
• The busiest domestic route is Los Angeles–Chicago O’Hare, offering 56,265 two‑way seats during the Thanksgiving window.

Even adding a single extra daily flight with a larger aircraft on trunk routes can shift thousands of passengers across the national network.

Local airport forecasts and passenger advice

• Houston officials forecast 2.1 million travelers through the city’s airports.
• Miami expects 1.96 million travelers.

Both airports urge passengers to:

• Arrive at least three hours early for morning departures.
• Allow extra time for check‑in, security, and boarding.
• Expect possible weather‑related delays during late‑autumn storms.

These are practical steps to reduce the chance that delays or lines will derail time‑sensitive plans.

System recovery after the shutdown

The Thanksgiving surge follows a difficult period for the National Airspace System:

• A 43‑day government shutdown tied to air traffic controller staffing shortages led to flight cuts.
• During that time, staffing‑trigger events—unscheduled controller absences that can force flow restrictions—peaked at 81 on November 8.
• By November 16, those events had dropped to one, returning to pre‑shutdown levels and signaling improved stability.

Operational backups and resilience measures

Carriers have taken concrete steps to limit disruption:

• United and Southwest added reserve crews to replace sick or delayed staff more quickly.
• Delta increased spare‑aircraft availability by 15%, giving planners more flexibility when jets go out of service.
• Despite these measures, officials warn the margin for error is thin when flights are tightly packed.

Security screening and TSA guidance

• The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is putting more officers on overtime.
• TSA has warned Sunday, November 30 could exceed the 3‑million‑passenger single‑day screening record set earlier this summer.

For official guidance on allowed items and screening rules, travelers are directed to the TSA’s resources: https://www.tsa.gov/travel.

Prices and travel demand

• Average holiday airfares are 8% higher than in 2024.
• Analysts attribute the fare rise to demand growing faster than seat supply, a strong U.S. economy, and pent‑up leisure demand following the earlier shutdown.

These higher fares and crowded conditions make time‑sensitive travel—family reunions, event attendance, coordinating international connections—more challenging.

Traveler impact and outlook

• Peak periods such as Thanksgiving 2025 create extra stress for travelers coordinating complex itineraries, especially when domestic legs connect with international flights (analysis by VisaVerge.com).
• Industry observers expect the travel boom to continue through Christmas and into early 2026, with U.S. domestic demand forecast to fully exceed pre‑pandemic levels by year‑end.

Final status and key reminders (as of November 24, 2025)

• No reports of major operational breakdowns or severe weather systems threatening the core holiday period have been reported.
• Airport authorities repeat the core advice: arrive early, allow extra time between connections, and be prepared for lines at every step.

With airlines pushing the system to record capacity and more than 31 million passengers moving through airports over Thanksgiving 2025, even small hiccups can ripple quickly across the country. Plan accordingly and expect busy terminals, higher fares, and tighter margins for operators during this peak travel window.