Flying for Thanksgiving? Last year's TSA numbers show the Sunday after was the most crowded day, and Thanksgiving itself the quietest
If your dates are flexible, the federal screening counts point to Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, or Black Friday, Nov. 27. A free Google tool can watch fares for you.
Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26, this year. If you are still booking, last year's federal screening counts show which days to avoid. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the federal agency that runs airport security checkpoints, posts how many people it screens each day.
In 2025, TSA screened 3,134,613 people on Sunday, Nov. 30, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the most of any day that holiday week. The Monday after was next, at 2,893,451. Thanksgiving Day itself, Nov. 27, 2025, was the quietest, at 1,559,165, and Black Friday was the next-lightest at 2,392,036.
The day before Thanksgiving is not the busiest departure day. The Friday six days before Thanksgiving, Nov. 21, 2025, saw 2,792,495 screenings, a bit more than the Wednesday before the holiday, at 2,753,036. This year, those days fall on Friday, Nov. 20, and Wednesday, Nov. 25; the Sunday after is Nov. 29.
At San José Mineta International Airport (SJC), last year's peak ran from Friday, Nov. 21, through Monday, Dec. 1, the airport said in its 2025 Thanksgiving release, with an average of about 16,300 departing passengers a day and up to 20,000 on the Sunday after. The airport has not yet posted a 2026 forecast. SJC recommends checking in online up to 24 hours before departure.
To watch fares, Google Flights lets you turn on "Track prices" for a route and get an email when the price changes significantly, Google's help page says. Choose "Any dates" to be told when the route's lowest price over a month drops.
Source: TSA checkpoint travel numbers, 2025; SJC Thanksgiving 2025 release; Google Flights help: track prices, checked Nov. 7, 2026.