The FAA Says Today Will Be the Busiest Travel Day of the Year

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is anticipating that Thursday, June 27 will be the busiest travel day of all of 2024 so far.

According to the FAA, 53,677 flights will take off on Thursday, beating the 53,515 that took off on Thursday, May 23 in the lead-up to Memorial Day Weekend. Sunday could be even busier, with 53,785 flights scheduled, which is expected to be the busiest day of the summer for the FAA.

Passengers should continue to not only pack properly to avoid issues at airport security but also pack their patience during this busy summer. This week already saw a slate of delays and cancellations for U.S. passengers flying in and out of the New York area because of severe thunderstorms on Wednesday, and crowds at airports will continue to be heavy through the July 4 holiday next week.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said earlier this week that it will screen more than 32 million travelers during the July 4 holiday, which it considers today, June 27, through Monday, July 8. The TSA already broke its record for most people screened on a single day on Sunday, June 23 at 2.99 million people, and doesn’t expect that record to last too long. It already set a new record seven times this month.

TSA is promising that it is prepared for that volume—wait times should remain at under 30 minutes for standard screening lanes and under 10 minutes for PreCheck. For those without PreCheck, the TSA is now offering PreCheck enrollment at some CLEAR airport locations around the country, so travelers can get a membership while they are traveling