Holiday travel
Thanksgiving week flight delays
The Saturday before Thanksgiving through the Sunday after, the busiest stretch of the US flying year.
Based on 2025 and earlier data. 2026 results expected around January 2027. Historical statistics, not a forecast and not live status.
The next Thanksgiving week runs from Saturday 21 November 2026 to Sunday 29 November 2026. This page does not forecast it: it is based on 2025 data, the most recent Thanksgiving week with complete figures, and on every year back to 2023. 2026 results are expected around January 2027, since the US DOT releases on-time data roughly two months after each month ends.
Most years, Thanksgiving week flies like any other stretch of its season. 1 of the last 3 years showed a measurable effect, and the average on-time gap to the surrounding weeks is −1.0 points.
There are 3 years of Thanksgiving week in the data, from 2023 to 2025, and 1 of them cleared the measurable-effect test.
Key figures for 2025
On time, 2025
77.8%
Normal weeks: 76.3%
Avg delay
76 min
Normal weeks: 77 min
Cancelled
1.74%
Normal weeks: 2.09%
Flights
172,288
Saturday 22 November to Sunday 30 November 2025
Measured against its own surrounding weeks, Thanksgiving week has run −3.8 points of on-time rate in 2023, −0.6 points of on-time rate in 2024 and +1.5 points of on-time rate in 2025. Cancellations shifted −0.04 points in 2023, −0.22 points in 2024 and −0.35 points in 2025, and the average delay of late flights +1 minute in 2023, −2 minutes in 2024 and −1 minute in 2025.
Holiday traffic grew 5% between 2023 and 2025, from 164,722 to 172,288 flights. In 2025 the window carried 19,143 flights a day against 18,914 in its normal weeks (+1%).
The share of arrivals an hour or more late, the figure that decides a connection, was 4.6% in 2023 (normally 3.4%), 4.6% in 2024 (normally 4.8%) and 8.5% in 2025 (normally 9.1%).
Year on year
Every Thanksgiving week in the data
| Year | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 164,722 | 83.2% | 87.0% | −3.8 | 0.13% | 0.17% |
| 2024, close to normal | 175,194 | 83.6% | 84.2% | −0.6 | 0.14% | 0.36% |
| 2025, close to normal | 172,288 | 77.8% | 76.3% | +1.5 | 1.74% | 2.09% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Patterns
What repeats from year to year
The most punctual Thanksgiving week in the data was 2024 at 83.6% on time; the least was 2025 at 77.8%, 5.8 points lower.
The busiest single day each year was Sunday 26 November 2023 (20,578 flights), Sunday 1 December 2024 (21,764 flights) and Sunday 30 November 2025 (21,576 flights).
Low points by year: Sunday 26 November 2023 (71.1%), Sunday 1 December 2024 (77.1%) and Sunday 30 November 2025 (53.1%). In 3 of 3 years that was the last day of the window, when the return rush and any lingering disruption meet.
The Sunday has been the day to avoid, 67.1% on time on average across 2023, 2024 and 2025; the Thursday has been the day to pick at 93.1%. Thanksgiving week lands on the same weekdays every year, so this is a pattern to plan around.
Early or late matters: 5am–8am departures averaged 89.2% on time across 2023, 2024 and 2025, 5pm–8pm departures 75.2%. That 14.0 points gap is bigger than the holiday effect itself.
2025 was the year for cancellations, 1.74% of scheduled flights and 9.87% at Chicago (ORD); the calmest was 2023 at 0.13%.
Airports and airlines
Who handles Thanksgiving week best
By airport across 2023, 2024 and 2025, San Juan (SJU, −7.6 points), Fort Lauderdale (FLL, −6.2 points) and Denver (DEN, −5.5 points) fell furthest behind their own normal weeks on average, while New York (LGA, +5.2), Washington (DCA, +3.4) and Seattle (SEA, +3.2) held up best. Only airports with 500 departures in every window count.
Each year one airport took the biggest hit against its own normal weeks: Fort Lauderdale (FLL, −12.5 points) in 2023, Detroit (DTW, −9.7 points) in 2024 and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW, −8.8 points) in 2025.
By carrier across 2023, 2024 and 2025, Republic Airways averaged the best on-time rate at 86.6% and JetBlue Airways the worst at 73.9%, a gap of 12.7 points.
Republic Airways handled the holiday best relative to its usual record (+4.5 points on average), and Spirit Airlines worst (−5.1).
Top of the carrier table each year: Republic Airways in 2023 (92.2%), Hawaiian Airlines in 2024 (89.2%) and Delta Air Lines in 2025 (81.8%).
Some routes are fixtures of Thanksgiving week: LAX to SFO and SFO to LAX made the top five in every year.
What to do with this
Planning Thanksgiving week 2026
For Thanksgiving week 2026: fly the Thursday if the dates allow; take a 5am–8am departure; and allow more connection time at San Juan (SJU) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Each year page has the day-by-day and airport-by-airport detail.
On time means arriving less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time. Average delay counts delayed flights only; cancellations are a share of every scheduled flight. A holiday is compared with the two weeks either side of it, leaving out days that belong to other holidays. The measurable-effect test asks for 3 points of on-time rate, 5 minutes of average delay or 2 points of cancellations; airports, routes and carriers need 500 flights in the window to be ranked. The US DOT publishes on-time data about two months after the month it covers.
Related
Where to go next
- Thanksgiving week 202383.2%
- Thanksgiving week 202483.6%
- Thanksgiving week 202577.8%
- Every US travel holiday
- The holidays that fly better than a normal week
- The busiest US travel days, and what they cost in punctuality
- How the figures are computed
Holiday windows are fixed by rule each year. See every window.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, July 2025 to June 2026. Last updated 15 September 2026; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.