10 busiest US airports for the holidays

This year, if you’re traveling through Chicago O’ Hare International (ORD), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) or Los Angeles International (LAX) for the holidays, you’ll get to experience firsthand one of the country’s top three airports—for crowds, that is. According to the Orbitz® Insider Index, which analyzed Orbitz.com® flight booking data for the top 50 U.S. airports, Chicago, Atlanta and LA ranked as the busiest for Christmas.

“Travelers have come to rely upon the busiest airport rankings from Orbitz.com to better navigate the holiday travel season. This year, we’ve analyzed data not only for Thanksgiving, but also for Christmas in order to arm people with information to help them better prepare for departure,” said Jeanenne Tornatore, senior editor at Orbitz.com. “Travelers looking to avoid the crowds and long lines should consider flying on off-peak days or booking airfare to an alternative airport in the region like John Wayne International in nearby Orange County instead of LAX.”

Left to right: Flickr CC: Wen Jun Lim, Prayitno, Erc Salard

According to the Orbitz.com 2016 holiday survey, 73 percent of Americans plan to travel for either Thanksgiving or Christmas.¹As always during the holiday season, travelers should anticipate long lines and packed flights. In particular, travel from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Denver International Airport (DEN) will likely be the most crowded during Christmas.

ORBITZ.COMBUSIEST AIRPORTS FOR CHRISTMAS TRAVEL 2016³

RANK	AIRPORT NAME	LOCATION/MARKET	AIRPORT CODE
1	Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International	Atlanta, Ga.	ATL
2	Chicago O’Hare International	Chicago, Ill.	ORD
3	Los Angeles International	Los Angeles, Calif.	LAX
4	Charlotte-Douglas International	Charlotte, N.C.	CLT
5	Dallas-Fort Worth International	Dallas, Texas	DFW
6	Denver International	Denver, Colo.	DEN
7	John F. Kennedy International	New York, N.Y.	JFK
8	Seattle-Tacoma International	Seattle, Wash.	SEA
9	Phoenix Sky Harbor International	Phoenix, Ariz.	PHX
10	Orlando International	Orlando, Fla.	MCO