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The busiest days at the Atlanta airport this Thanksgiving

Check which days are scheduled to see the most flights at the world’s busiest airport.
Travelers are seen checking in at the Delta South Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Friday is expected to be one of the busiest Thanksgiving season travel days at the airport. (Miguel Martinez/AJC file)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Travelers are seen checking in at the Delta South Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Friday is expected to be one of the busiest Thanksgiving season travel days at the airport. (Miguel Martinez/AJC file)
By Emma Hurt and
Nov 20, 2025

While Thanksgiving is next week, the holiday travel crunch starts at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport this weekend.

Airport officials expect more than 4 million passengers to travel through the world’s busiest airport between Friday, Nov. 21, and Tuesday, Dec. 2.

In fact, this Friday will be one of the busiest.

Based on an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of airline data from aviation analytics company Cirium, the Atlanta airport will see its busiest day by scheduled departures and arrivals on Monday, Dec. 1, followed closely by Friday, Nov. 21, and Tuesday, Dec. 2.

On Friday, nearly one out of every 10 departures is scheduled for the 9 a.m. hour.

ExploreYour guide to a stress-free holiday season

Security wait time estimates are available in real time at the airport’s website and on the AJC website. The airport site also tracks parking lot availability.

Across its network, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines expects to fly approximately 6.5 million customers during the Thanksgiving window. That’s on par with last year, spokesperson Morgan Durrant told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian last week on CBS predicted a “great holiday period of travel.”

Atlanta’s airport isn’t just busy — it’s basically Georgia’s second-largest city with its own zip code. Credit: Emma Hurt/AJC

About the Authors

As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Charles Minshew is the data editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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