Houston Connects Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Charlotte, And Other Cities: The Ultimate Guide To Surviving Thanksgiving Travel Chaos At America’s Busiest Airports

Published on November 29, 2025

It is the busiest travel time of the year, and Houston is the primary connector to Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and Charlotte. With millions of travelers going in and out of one of the country’s busiest airports, Thanksgiving travel chaos can become overwhelming. Getaways and family travel are a fundamental part of the holiday, but surviving the Thanksgiving travel chaos requires preparation. Virtually every airport in the country will see a rise in traffic, but Houston will see a much more significant spike in traffic than most airports. This means it is even more important to be in the know and prepared. Major hubs like Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles will be gridlocked. It is all but guaranteed that you will be faced with delays in one of these hubs. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, Travel And Tour World would like to encourage you to read the entire guide to learn to survive Thanksgiving travel chaos at the busiest airports in America. You will be allowed to outsmart the crowd and greatly improve the efficiency of your holiday travel.

Thanksgiving 2025: The ULTIMATE Guide to the Busiest Airports in America – Prepare for ABSOLUTE MADNESS!

America’s airports are preparing for a massive increase in traffic for Thanksgiving 2025. The numbers? Absolutely enormous. Experts predict record crowding and chaos, more than recently seen.

What can we expect, information collection-wise, on the day prior to Thanksgiving? Expect high-volume traffic and line-ups that will recycle your anxiety, stress, and irritation. Expect the time completion of tasks to be nothing short of hopeless. Expect thousands of people trying to finish the same tasks in a very small time frame. Expect the completion of the same tasks to take 100x longer than it logically should. One of the 360,000 expected flights will likely result in you sitting in a metal box for at least 5 hours. If information is to be processed and decisions can be made to refine your travel time to its lowest variable, such as the amount of anticipated travel time and overall travel frustration, perhaps it would be advantageous to review as much information as possible. To a lesser notice, it’s advisable to consider this information, to free as much time as possible for the actual travel of Thanksgiving Chaos.

2023 Top 10 Busiest Airports in the U.S. Travel for Thanksgiving 2023

There’s a top-level list in America that has no close competition. It’s the list of the busiest and most populated travel centers across America during peak travel, Thanksgiving. As a result of peak travel, it’s absolutely packed, with high levels of foot and vehicle traffic in and around the terminals. Let’s consider the peak overload travel centers.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL): The Beast of Thanksgiving Travel

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta is again acknowledged as the busiest airport in the United States. And, ATL is set to handle over 4 million passengers during Thanksgiving. We witness around 375,000 passengers being processed through security every peak travel day, resulting in over-capacitated terminals and limited ground infrastructure. Most travelers question, What’s the plan? Get to the airport hours earlier than the scheduled departure, as the lines stretch for as far as the eye can see. It’s a game of high stakes as the fastest will survive to board on time.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD): The Madness That Never Stops

Year-round traffic domination? Chicago Airport O’Hare is it, and this Thanksgiving, it will be setting new records. O’Hare is always at the top of the busiest airport terminals worldwide. There are achieved massive terminal networks have been achieved in conjunction with a high travel demand volume for connection flights. Customers will be unsurprised during this period as all airlines are filling all available seats, resulting in a high volume of travel versus civil order, and O’Hare terminals’ chaos. On peak travel days? If you’re checking travel, keep in mind the queues will be as festive as the holiday.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): A Texan Trainwreck in the Making

Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport is in the middle of one of the largest, most active, and most intricate airport systems in the world. For Thanksgiving, DFW’s terminals will be bursting at the seams with hundreds of thousands of people. Due to the already existing congestion and chaos, it’ll be an absolute warzone as people battle for mobility to reach their destination gates. Even small factors like the weather and personnel can tip DFW over the edge and create mass chaos in the terminal.

Denver International Airport (DEN): The Mile High Madness Starts Here

In addition to its strange artwork, Denver International Airport (DEN) is also famous for its serious travel disorganization during the holidays. DFW is one of the most traveled airports, and travel is expected to peak over the holidays of Thanksgiving 2025. There will be thousands of people as travelers try to escape the cold to warmer climates. Make sure to give yourself 3 hours of wait time before security to navigate the extreme delays, massive crowds, and intense lines.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX): Terminal Pressure on the West Coast

LAX, like other US major airports, accommodates massive flows of passengers. Thanksgiving 2025 is predicted to break former passenger records. A multitude of families, leisure, and business passengers are expected to overflood the terminals, eager to board fully booked flights. With long waiting lines at security and a migration of travellers attempting to leave the West Coast bottleneck, this is the airport where you should NOT test your luck. If you wish to avoid missing your flight, go there very early.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT): An Overlooked Giant of the Holiday Travel Season

Charlotte, unlike major hubs, does not enjoy a national reputation. However, the recent and rapid growth of its popularity is a fact. With the increasing passenger traffic, it is expected to manage a flow of millions of travellers. A major part of this passenger traffic is Thanksgiving travellers. CLT will be filled with families, tourists, and business passengers, all trying to gain a boarding pass, so it will be complete chaos. With the current expected major increase in passenger traffic, be prepared for overwhelmed terminals and elevated travel complexity. If you’re not looking to be overwhelmed, come early.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX): The Wild West of Thanksgiving Travel

Due to Phoenix Sky Harbor’s consistent rise in traffic and flights, it is about to feel the holiday travel. Being the third largest Airport in the United States and consistently being one of the busiest due to the holiday peak in travel, it is to be expected. There are massive numbers of travelers during this peak holiday, especially with the following holidays in December. The security lines are going to be stretched long, and the delays are going to become even more vital to be prepared for. Take all the expected holiday travel frustration and add the possibilities of weather-related travel disruptions and temperatures during the busy holiday season, and you’ve got a busy Airport travel to deal with.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA): High Demand, High Stress

Unprecedented demand is going to be overhauled at Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) in 2025. The 8th largest Airport in the United States, for the 1st time, is going to hold a high spot on the busiest Airports in the country for the Pacific Northwest. The large surge of travelers will put a lot of pressure on the Pacific Northwest and will be one of the busiest Airports in the Country. The squeeze in the terminals will put a lot of pressure on the staff, which is going to lead to a squeeze on the staff and the air traffic controllers which is creating to create high-pressure storm of delays for all travel and disrupt the flow of travel in the Airport during the busy holiday season. Thanksgiving is going to leave a lot of congestion for anyone traveling with the large amount of flow at the Airport.

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS): Vegas takes no prisoners

Thanksgiving brings enormous amounts of travel to one of the most recognizable and distinctive locations of the United States: Las Vegas. Due to Thanksgiving, Harry Reid International Airport will be experiencing a large increase in air travel. Being the ‘Ramp of packed flights‘ and ‘Holiday Kong‘, the airport will be experiencing a host of issues: frustrated lines, heavy delays, and lots of people all in the chaos of a Vegas location. It will certainly be a Vegas-style holiday airport.

LaGuardia Airport (LGA): New York’s turbulent transit hub

New York’s most crowded airport, LaGuardia, is also going to be experiencing a massive holiday travel increase for Thanksgiving. LaGuardia is the most aged and outdated of all the New York terminals, where you are guaranteed to hit delays and oversigning chaos scenarios. It will be a wild ride and a packed terminal where you will hit all the tourist chaos of New York City. It will be one of the most difficult airports to travel to navigate. New York City is a great place, but it is packed and full of chaos, and will make LaGuardia difficult to navigate.

Why You Should Expect INSANE Delays and Travel Nightmares at These Airports

The Thanksgiving rush in 2025 looks to be the busiest holiday season in Thanksgiving history, and the most maddening for travelers. According to experts, the busiest day of this holiday rush will be Tuesday, November 25th. Expect to see airports working at maximum capacity, with critical delays and cancellations in the system. Be prepared for the potential of complete travel mayhem. Expect to be in long lines and “lose” part of your day to the experience with long lines at the security, boarding, and baggage claim. Core 30” airports will experience the longest security delays.

Major Risk Factors That Could Turn Your Thanksgiving Travel Into a NIGHTMARE

The travel disruptions this holiday season will be compounded, with long lines and heavy crowds at airports a near certainty. Operational issues, including staffing, have proven to be a “perfect storm,” and travelers should prepare for cancellations, as well. Thunderstorms, heavy, and low-lying clouds will create a “fog” of delays in the system. And with a government shutdown, as well as reduced flights, expect to see airports overwhelmed. Get ready for a war.

Houston Airports Travel Predictions: A Case Study of George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and Hobby (HOU)

As one of the biggest travel hubs in the Texas region, Houston is preparing to handle over 2.1 million people traveling through Houston’s busiest airports, George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU). Expected travel demand will be at its highest from November 20th to December 1, with peak travel days being the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and Sunday, November 30th. Houston’s two airports will service unprecedented demand, with high terminal occupancy and overflowing parking facilities. Expect severe traffic and delays due to unpredictable weather.