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Thanksgiving week draws major airport crowds, so it can be a brutal time to travel. And in 2025, the number of passengers screened in U.S. airports has already reached all-time highs. Because the Sunday after Thanksgiving is usually the busiest airport day of the entire year, it’s likely the 2025 Thanksgiving week will also break records.
Bookings for Thanksgiving made from the U.S. are up 2.2% this Thanksgiving compared to last Thanksgiving, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium. But some days within Thanksgiving week are significantly busier on the roads and at airports than others. If you can be flexible with scheduling, you’ll save money and avoid chaos.
The best and worst days to fly around Thanksgiving
NerdWallet analyzed checkpoint travel numbers from 2021 to 2024 provided by the Transportation Security Administration, which tracks the number of passengers screened daily at U.S. airport checkpoints.
For the period from the Thursday before to the Thursday after Thanksgiving, the data shows that the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the most crowded day to fly. Meanwhile, the least crowded travel day at airports during that time period is Thanksgiving Day.
Here are the three least-crowded days to travel both before and after Thanksgiving, ranked from least to most crowded. Because they're less crowded and likely less expensive, it makes them some of the best days to fly around Thanksgiving.
Pre-holiday:
- Saturday before (least crowded).
- Monday before.
- Thursday before.
Post-holiday:
- Wednesday after (least crowded).
- Tuesday after.
- Black Friday.
Why flying the Sunday after Thanksgiving is so terrible
The Sunday after Thanksgiving is pretty much the worst day of the year to fly. In all four of the most recent years analyzed, the Sunday after Thanksgiving was the busiest single day of the entire year at U.S. airports, based on TSA passenger data.
Last year, more than 3.09 million people crossed through U.S. airport security checkpoints on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, in what was then a record in terms of airport crowds. At the time, it was only the second time in history that airports saw more than 3 million passengers arrive on a single day. And since then, that record has been broken just once — that was on Sunday, June 22, 2025.
But there is a silver lining. According to Cirium, there will be almost 250,000 more seats flying this Thanksgiving, compared to last year. This is an average seat growth across airlines of 2% for the period. So sure, demand is higher, but the good news for travelers is that so is supply.
The smarter, cheaper Thanksgiving weekend itinerary
If you work a standard Monday to Friday workweek with two days off for the holiday, then leaving Wednesday after work and flying home on Sunday can make sense. Most people following this schedule to avoid taking extra time off. But this itinerary could cost you more money, because the busiest days to fly are usually the most expensive, too.
So how can you choose a better Thanksgiving travel itinerary to save money? Avoid the Wednesday to Sunday itinerary and try these travel days instead.
Travel on Thanksgiving Day
Across travel days for the week before and after Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day was the lowest-traffic day every year in our analysis. In 2024, just 1.6 million people (slightly more than half of Sunday's figures) were at an airport on Thanksgiving Day — just over half as many as who were at an airport on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
If you do travel on Thanksgiving Day, book the first flight out that morning. That's a practice NerdWallet recommends anyway to reduce your odds of a flight delay. Expedia's 2025 Air Hacks report finds morning flights are 57% less prone to cancellations than flights after 9 p.m., and you might even land in time for Thanksgiving dinner.
Stay longer
Consider extending your trip. The Wednesday after Thanksgiving is, on average, the least busy day to travel post-holiday, among the days we looked at in our analysis. Especially if you can work remotely, you might be able to avoid taking vacation days, despite the longer trip.
Fly on Black Friday
If you must travel during the weekend, consider having Thanksgiving dinner at your own home, then flying somewhere on Black Friday, which is the third-least crowded day to fly on average. Look at it as a great way to not only avoid airport crowds but also retail crowds since you won’t be out shopping.
Where should you travel for Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is trending tropical this year. Expedia tracked year-over-year increases in traveler interest to identify which destinations are seeing the biggest surge in demand for Thanksgiving 2025.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, tops the list of domestic getaways with a 40% increase in interest compared to last year (and it's a great island getaway without needing a passport). Other warm-weather favorites like San Diego (+25%) and Kahului, Hawaii (+25%) continue drawing travelers seeking to trade turkey dinners for beach days.
For international travel, Osaka, Japan, leads with a 40% surge in bookings, likely driven by favorable exchange rates and Japan's appeal during autumn season. Rome follows with a 25% increase, suggesting travelers are drawn to Italy's mild November weather and fewer crowds than peak summer months. Panama City, Panama, rounds out the top three with a 20% increase, offering Central American beaches and cultural experiences.
Perhaps most notably, Medellin, Colombia, makes its first appearance on Expedia's trending destinations list with a 15% increase. The Colombian city appeals to travelers seeking mild temperatures year-round and benefits from a strong expat community that integrates traditional Thanksgiving celebrations into local bars and restaurants, creating a sense of home away from home for American visitors.
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