(NerdWallet) – For those planning a July 4th holiday, prepare for crowds. The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will screen a record number of passengers in 2023, and that record is likely to be broken in 2024. In fact, travel volume in the first two months of 2024 increased by about 6% compared to the same period in 2024. 2023 according to TSA.
Are there certain days and other days that are better for air travel, keeping in mind that heavy crowds are expected?
In 2024, July 4th will fall on a Thursday, making it difficult to predict travel crowds. Will people take Friday off to enjoy a long weekend? Or will you decide that your vacation is best spent on something else?
Here's some guidance on booking air travel for the July 4th weekend in 2024, and ways you can potentially avoid crowds and save on airfare.
The best and worst days to fly: The fourth weekend in July
Will airports be busy on July 4th? NerdWallet looks at TSA data showing the number of passengers screened at U.S. checkpoints over the past three years, focusing on the seven days before and after July 4th. We analyzed the data to find the busiest days for flights.
Worst day to fly: To avoid crowds, avoid flying on Fridays before July 4th. In each of the past three years, the Friday before the July 4th weekend has been the busiest day.
For post-holiday travel, the following day, Sunday, is the busiest day for flights.
Best day to fly: The 4th of July is typically the day with the least amount of air travel. Airport congestion on July 4 last year was on average only 70% of what it was on the Friday before July 4 (June 30, 2023), the busiest travel day.
But if you want to spend the day celebrating the 4th of July instead of at the airport, go on a Tuesday. The Tuesdays before and after the holidays rank as the least-busy days of the fourth week of July.
Our ranking of the best and worst days to travel on July 4th follows annual travel patterns. No matter when you travel, Friday is on average the busiest day to fly, and Tuesday is the least crowded on average.
How will this year's Thursday holiday affect the long weekend?
July 4th falls on a Thursday, so those looking to travel for the holiday will likely have the following Friday off for a long weekend. But given that few people want to travel for Independence Day, when will people actually get on a plane?
The last time July 4th fell on a Thursday was in 2019. Below are the daily traveler crowds for 2019, sorted from most to least crowded.
- Sunday after July 7th (busiest).
- The following Monday, July 8th.
- The Friday before that, June 28th.
- The Thursday before that, June 27th.
- The Sunday before that, June 30th.
- The following Thursday, July 11th.
- The Wednesday before that, July 3rd.
- Next Wednesday, July 10th.
- The following Tuesday, July 9th.
- The Monday before that, July 1st.
- The Saturday before that, June 29th.
- The Tuesday before that, July 2nd.
- The following Saturday, July 6th.
- Then Friday, July 5th.
- Thursday, July 4th (least busy day).
In 2019, the July 4th holiday was the day with the least number of flights. On the other hand, there were no crowds on July 5, the day after the holiday. This goes against the normal trend of Friday being the busiest day of the week for tourists. When it comes to July 4th weekend travel, most people are already at their destination by Friday.
But there is one day that definitely brings crowds to the airport, and that is the Sunday after July 4th. It will be expensive to fly on this day. According to his 2024 Travel Booking Hacks report for travel booking app Hopper, the most expensive day to fly in the US is Sunday, with airfares averaging 15% more expensive than mid-week departures.
Make your 2024 Independence Day travel itinerary smarter and cheaper.
Following typical July 4th holiday travel patterns can result in costly costs such as airfare and time spent waiting in line at the airport. Change that schedule and find a less crowded and probably better July Fourth flight as well. Try the following travel dates instead:
fly on july 4th
If you don't mind traveling on holidays, look at the busiest air travel dates during the time period you're analyzing.
Fly early on your day off for better results. Hopper's Spring 2023 Flight Disruption Outlook finds that flights departing between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. are half as likely to be delayed as flights scheduled to depart after 9 a.m. I did.
Plus, if you fly in the morning, you're more likely to see fireworks at your final destination.
accept Saturday trip
Instead of rushing to get off work and catch a flight on the Friday afternoon before your vacation, relax at home that night and leave on Saturday morning instead. Just shifting his trip by one day could go from the busiest day of the July 4th travel period to the least traveled.
The same applies when you return home. While it may be tempting to extend your trip as much as possible before you have to go back to work on Monday, we recommend skipping the Sunday flight and flying home on Saturday instead. Bonus: You can take a day off and recover at home before starting the new work week. What a responsible person.
Flights on July 5th
Fridays are usually one of the most expensive days of the year for flights, but that doesn't seem to be the case this week.
Therefore, you have the option of flying home on July 5th. This allows you to spend your vacation in the destination of your choice. If you return home on Friday, you can spend the entire weekend at home and be on vacation by Monday.
