U.S. airlines are bracing for their busiest holiday season on record, even as travelers pay more to fly, Bloomberg writes.
Carriers expect to move an average of 2.9 million passengers a day between Dec. 19 and Jan. 5, up 1.5% from last year, according to the Airlines for America trade group.
The surge comes despite domestic round-trip fares averaging about $900, roughly 7% higher than in 2024, AAA reports. Major hubs are already seeing the pressure: New York-area airports anticipate 5.7 million travelers over the peak period, while Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth each expect close to 5 million passengers.
Baton Rouge is also seeing a bump in holiday travel this year. Louis Hubbard, assistant director of aviation at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, told Daily Report the airport expects more than 19,600 outbound passengers during the holiday period, up from just over 18,000 a year ago—an increase of roughly 7.5%. Scheduled airline departures are up 11% year over year for the travel window, which began Dec. 19 and runs through Jan. 5.
The travel boom follows a volatile year for airlines, marked by tariff-driven economic uncertainty and a fall government shutdown that forced temporary flight cuts at dozens of major airports. With ongoing construction and staffing shortages adding to congestion, airports are urging passengers to budget extra time as the holiday crush unfolds.
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