American Airlines is planning its biggest Thanksgiving travel operation since the pandemic, with more than 8 million customers expected on nearly 85,000 flights between Thursday, November 19 and Tuesday, December 1. The peak will be Sunday, November 29, when the airline plans 7,021 flights, its largest single day of flying since the pandemic, working out to roughly one takeoff every 13 seconds.
The numbers are about 4 percent higher than last year, according to the airline’s Thanksgiving plan published this week. The Sunday peak matches the wider picture for the holiday: the Transportation Security Administration is projecting that November 29 could be the busiest day it has ever recorded, beating the 3.13 million people it screened on the same Sunday in 2025.
Sunday Could Break the TSA Record
The TSA screened 3,134,613 people on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2025, the highest single-day screening volume in the agency’s history, and the record has grown every year: 2.91 million in 2023, 3.09 million in 2024 and 3.13 million in 2025. The Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving are also expected to see near-record numbers, while Thanksgiving Day itself is the quietest day of the week, with 1,559,165 screened last year, about half as many as the Sunday after.
There is one caution in the forecast. From July to October 2026, the TSA screened 2 percent to 4 percent fewer people per day than in the same months of 2025, according to analysis of the agency’s daily counts, so the Sunday after Thanksgiving will still be the busiest day of the week, but it may not beat last year’s record. American’s own plan, however, points the other way, with 4 percent more passengers than last year.
What Travellers Should Know
Airfares have also climbed, with CBS News reporting a 31 percent rise in average Thanksgiving ticket prices compared with 2025. Travellers without a REAL ID or passport will now need the TSA’s ConfirmID process, which carries a $45 fee and takes extra time, and the agency advises arriving at least two to three hours before departure. At present, 99 percent of PreCheck passengers wait less than 10 minutes at the checkpoint, even during high-volume windows, according to TSA data.
Thanksgiving Day itself remains the best day to fly, with the lightest crowds and the fewest delays, while the Sunday after is the worst on both measures: in the median season from 2022 to 2025, 28.4 percent of flights that Sunday were cancelled, diverted or 15 or more minutes late. Anyone flying home that day should build in a buffer, keep essentials in hand luggage, and check flight status before leaving for the airport.
