Holiday travel

Christmas Week at Airport Security

TSA THROUGHPUT · DEC 21, 2025 TO DEC 27, 2025

In Christmas week 2025, security at the 30 busiest US airports was busiest on Monday, Dec 22, 2025 (1,682,736 people screened) and quietest on Thursday, Dec 25, 2025 (1,278,357), based on TSA checkpoint counts.

These are TSA's own hourly checkpoint counts for Dec 21, 2025 to Dec 27, 2025, the most recent Christmas week. Holiday weeks are kept out of the typical levels on the airport pages and reported here instead.

Busiest days at airport security, Christmas week 2025

People screened at the 30 airports · TSA THROUGHPUT · DEC 21, 2025 TO DEC 27, 2025
DayPeople screenedvs busiest day
Sun Dec 211,672,646-1%
Mon Dec 221,682,7360%
Tue Dec 231,681,5270%
Wed Dec 241,362,952-19%
Thu Dec 251,278,357-24%
Fri Dec 261,561,499-7%
Sat Dec 271,607,830-4%

Christmas security lines by airport

Average people screened a day in Christmas week 2025, compared with the typical day in the 8 weeks to Nov 7, 2026. The two periods are a year apart, so part of any difference is growth or decline at that airport.

TSA THROUGHPUT · DEC 21, 2025 TO DEC 27, 2025
AirportA dayvs fall 2026Busiest dayQuietest dayBusiest hour
DEN Denver72,553+11%Tue Dec 23Thu Dec 258–9 am
ATL Atlanta85,290-1%Sat Dec 27Thu Dec 257–8 am
DFW Dallas Fort Worth74,573+2%Tue Dec 23Thu Dec 256–7 am
SEA Seattle59,255+8%Tue Dec 23Thu Dec 257–8 am
MCO Orlando81,889+17%Sat Dec 27Thu Dec 255–6 am
JFK New York JFK97,261+15%Mon Dec 22Fri Dec 266–7 am
MSP Minneapolis40,692+9%Fri Dec 26Wed Dec 245–6 am
EWR Newark78,708+20%Mon Dec 22Fri Dec 265–6 am
LAX Los Angeles106,075+14%Sun Dec 21Fri Dec 267–8 am
CLT Charlotte32,320-1%Sat Dec 27Thu Dec 257–8 am
PHL Philadelphia38,633+1%Sat Dec 27Thu Dec 255–6 am
PHX Phoenix58,841+4%Sat Dec 27Thu Dec 257–8 am
SFO San Francisco75,806+6%Mon Dec 22Thu Dec 2511 am–noon
ORD Chicago O'Hare90,073-3%Fri Dec 26Wed Dec 246–7 am
LGA LaGuardia42,594-13%Tue Dec 23Sat Dec 275–6 am
DCA Reagan National32,7060%Tue Dec 23Thu Dec 255–6 am
BNA Nashville26,185-23%Sun Dec 21Thu Dec 255–6 am
LAS Las Vegas58,988-14%Sun Dec 21Thu Dec 2510–11 am
BWI Baltimore27,693+11%Tue Dec 23Thu Dec 255–6 am
SAN San Diego36,959-2%Tue Dec 23Thu Dec 255–6 am
AUS Austin30,771-2%Tue Dec 23Thu Dec 255–6 am
PDX Portland25,648+4%Sun Dec 21Thu Dec 255–6 am
IAH Houston54,311+10%Sun Dec 21Fri Dec 268–9 am
MIA Miami78,060+30%Sat Dec 27Thu Dec 256–7 am
PIT Pittsburgh13,155-12%Fri Dec 26Wed Dec 244–5 am
DTW Detroit40,185+13%Sat Dec 27Wed Dec 247–8 am
MSY New Orleans16,284-8%Sun Dec 21Wed Dec 245–6 am
CVG Cincinnati13,346-4%Sat Dec 27Thu Dec 255–6 am
IAD Dulles36,535+17%Sat Dec 27Thu Dec 254–5 pm
RDU Raleigh-Durham24,2600%Sat Dec 27Thu Dec 255–6 am

Planning for Christmas 2026

Christmas Day falls on a Friday in 2026, so the busiest days will shift with the calendar. The pattern above is the guide: the days just before Christmas Eve are the heaviest, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the lightest, and traffic builds again from the 26th.

For your own flight, check the hour on the airport page and use the arrival calculator, then add time: the typical levels do not include holiday weeks.

Passengers silhouetted against a sunset window in a gate area at Orlando International Airport, with aircraft tails outside.
Orlando International Airport. Photo: Marcos Ochoa / Pexels

Christmas airport security: questions

What is the busiest day to fly at Christmas?

In 2025, the busiest day at the 30 airports' checkpoints was Mon Dec 22, with 1,682,736 people screened. The three days before Christmas Eve were all within 1% of each other.

Is Christmas Day a quiet day to fly?

Yes, in 2025 it was the quietest day of the week at most of these airports: 1,278,357 people screened at the 30 airports on Thu Dec 25, 24% fewer than on Mon Dec 22.

Which airports get much busier at Christmas?

Against an ordinary week in fall 2026, the biggest rises were MIA (+30%), EWR (+20%), MCO (+17%), IAD (+17%).