Most people fly out on Friday and return home on Monday. Avoid the crowds with this smarter air travel itinerary.
Labor Day may mark the unofficial end of summer in the U.S. — but it’s hardly the end of airport crowds. In fact, given record-breaking crowds already this year, there’s a good chance this Labor Day weekend could be busier than any prior Labor Day weekend.
Earlier this summer, U.S. airports set new passenger highs, according to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) data. July 7, the Sunday after the Fourth of July holiday, marked a new record of passengers screened at the airport on a single day when more than 3 million people passed through TSA checkpoints.
If summer travel patterns are any indication, Labor Day will also be a huge day for air travel.
If you’re traveling for the Labor Day long weekend, you should be prepared for crowds. That said, some days are set to be busier than others.
The best and worst days to fly Labor Day weekend
TSA checkpoint data suggests most people use Labor Day — which is observed on the first Monday of September — as a long weekend. They depart on Friday, bask in two full days of vacation and return home on Monday.
To avoid crowds, and likely save money, book Labor Day travel on days that aren’t the start and end of the weekend. Based on an average of the past four years, here were the most to least crowded days for the week surrounding Labor Day, ranked:
- Friday before Labor Day (most crowded).
- Labor Day Monday.
- Sunday after.
- Thursday before.
- Friday after.
- Monday after.
- Thursday after.
- Monday before.
- Tuesday after.
- Sunday before.
- Saturday before.
- Wednesday before.
- Wednesday after.
- Saturday after.
- Tuesday before (least crowded).
When broken out by pre- and post-Labor Day travel, here are the three least crowded days to travel ranked from least to most crowded:
Pre-holiday:
- Tuesday before (overall least crowded day pre-holiday).
- Wednesday before.
- Saturday before.
Post-holiday:
- Saturday after (overall least crowded day post-holiday).
- Wednesday after.
- Tuesday after.
During the seven days after and before Labor Day (including the holiday itself), the Friday before Labor Day has been the single busiest day to fly over each of the past three years.
As far as the period starting on Labor Day itself and spanning the subsequent seven days, Labor Day Monday has been the busiest day to fly over the past three years.
The smarter, cheaper Labor Day weekend itinerary
If you work a standard Monday-Friday workweek and have the holiday off, leaving Friday after work and returning on Labor Day seems logical. But following the same itinerary as everyone else means you’ll likely pay — both in airfares and navigating airport crowds. For lighter crowds (and perhaps better deals), try these travel days instead:
Fly on the Tuesday or Wednesday before: Let Labor Day weekend become closer to a week by jetting off earlier than the folks leaving Thursday or Friday, assuming you have enough vacation days to use (or can work remotely). You’ll have more time away from home and be more relaxed without the big airport crowds.
Travel on Saturday: Crowds are light on Saturdays before and after the holiday. So, rather than rushing out of work on Friday afternoon to catch a flight, opt for the morning flight the next day.
That Saturday morning flight might also reduce your risk of delays, too. According to travel booking site Hopper’s Flight Disruption Outlook for Spring 2023, flights departing after 9 a.m. are twice as likely to be delayed than departures scheduled from 5-8 a.m.
Fly home the Sunday before: While most folks fly home on Labor Day Monday, you might get a head start by flying home on Sunday. Sure, you’ll have one less vacation day than folks following your same itinerary departing Monday, but that’s not a bad thing. By returning Sunday night, you’ll have a whole day to refresh and prepare for the week ahead by doing laundry, meal prepping or catching up on potential jetlag. Sometimes the nicest way to relax is by taking a vacation from your vacation.
Consider travel insurance
If you are forking out the big dollars to travel this Labor Day weekend, consider booking your trip with a card that has travel insurance or purchasing a supplementary policy from a third-party insurance provider, like Allianz or World Nomads.
Travel insurance can help you get money back for canceled or interrupted trips, or cover flight delays, lost luggage or emergency evacuation.
Read the policy, though, as many plans come to your rescue only if you experience a covered reason.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2024:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Copyright 2024 NerdWallet, Inc. All rights reserved. From https://www.nerdwallet.com. By Sally French.
