Christmas Travel: Trade Group Says 47.5 Million People Are Expected To Fly This Holiday Season

Trade group Airlines for America (A4A) said that 47.5 million people are expected to fly globally on U.S. airlines from Dec. 19 to Jan. 5, a 3% increase over last year. The busiest days will likely be the Friday and Saturday before Christmas, along with the Thursday and Friday after Christmas.

"Throughout this year we've seen steady gains in air travel demand, and this winter will be no exception," John Heimlich, vice president and chief economist at A4A said. He said that the relatively strong U.S. economy and air travel becoming more affordable are reasons behind the high numbers of Americans flying.

The group says that an average of 2.6 million passengers will fly each day during the holiday season, with airlines offering 88,000 additional seats per day and 884 more flights per day to accommodate passengers.

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve will be the days with the fewest air passengers during the holiday season.

The busiest airports during the Christmas season will be Atlanta (ATL), Los Angeles (LAX), and Chicago O'Hare (ORD).

Extreme weather could upend travel for Americans during the holiday season. Multiple storms disrupted travel for Americans during Thanksgiving, with snowstorms causing hundreds of flights to be canceled out of Denver International Airport. A "bomb cyclone" of snow also caused disruptions for Thanksgiving travelers on the West Coast.