Thought airports were busy last summer? 2024 could be more packed — but less expensive

09.05.2024 - 18:37 / thepointsguy.com / Ed Bastian / David Pekoske / Andrew Nocella / Airlines

If the summer travel seasons of 2022 and 2023 left you thinking airports couldn't possibly get any busier, think again.

There are just over two weeks until Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of the season — and the start of the traditional summer travel rush.

From airlines to the Transportation Security Administration, all signs point to another record-breaker — though bits of good news are sprinkled in for travelers across everything from airline operations to ticket prices.

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United Airlines this week announced it's forecasting its busiest Memorial Day weekend on record, with more than 3 million travelers expected to fly between May 23 and May 28 — up 5% from the comparable period last year.

It seems to be a sign of what's to come in June, July and August.

"This will be the biggest Memorial Day and summer travel season in United's 98-year history," United Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said in a statement this week.

It's not just United.

Despite swirling questions late last year about whether the so-called revenge travel trend following the removal of pandemic-related restrictions might continue, don't expect the crowds to taper off at airports.

American Airlines expects to serve some 72 million customers between May 17 and Sept. 3, the Fort Worth-based carrier said this week. Those travelers will be spread out across 10% more flights than last summer — helped, in part, by American reinstating regional service to some of the nation's smaller airports that have been slow to recover from the pandemic.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian voiced similarly bullish expectations on the company's April earnings call: "We expect a record spring and summer travel season," Bastian said.

High passenger demand means busy TSA checkpoints. The agency expects its own records, even after twice setting all-time single-day marks for passenger throughput in 2023 — a year that also saw seven of its 10 busiest days ever at checkpoints.

"We expect to see some days this summer that will be particularly busy, exceeding 3.1 million passengers per day," TSA Administrator David Pekoske told congressional leaders last month. That would top the agency's busiest day ever, which came on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2023.

Again this summer, intense demand for travel to Europe figures to be a major driver for demand.

Those travelers have plenty of flight options, too. Airlines will fly 8.5% more seats across the Atlantic to Europe than last year, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.

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Closer to home, the growth is a bit more modest, with total