When Are Airports at Their Busiest?

Crowd of people on airport station lobby.

When Are Airports at Their Busiest?

All airports have their busy season. They all share common busy seasons, such as holidays, summers and spring breaks – and the DTW is no different.

With increased security measures and tighter flight schedules, long lines and parking backups can be extremely frustrating. If you can be flexible with your traveling schedule, always book your flight during off-peak periods when the airport isn’t as crowded. Not only will you spare yourself some headaches getting to the airport and boarding, you may also save yourself some money. If you don’t have any flexibility, at least you know you can enlist the help of Valet Connections DTW parking to ease the stress of the situation.

Here are the busiest times at DTW and all other airports.

Monday Mornings/Friday Afternoons

No surprise here. Aside from holidays, these are generally the two busiest days of the week at an airport. This is when business people make their way to their company meetings and back again. As such, you’ll pay less if you book between Monday at noon and Thursday at noon.

Thursday and Sunday Afternoons

Vacation travelers going to and from a three- or four-day weekend getaway will drive up prices on these two afternoons. Thursday noon ticket rates are high, as are Sundays. In fact, Sunday afternoons are the most expensive. If you have no choice but to fly on these days, take the earliest flight out on Thursday or the latest in on Sunday.

Christmas/New Year’s Day

The week surrounding Christmas and New Year’s is even busier than Thanksgiving. Before COVID hit, 47.5 million people were expected to fly all over the world during Christmas week. Those numbers took a hit in 2020 but are starting to increase fast.

Day Before Thanksgiving

If we’re talking the single busiest travel day of the year, Thanksgiving has them all beat. This is the busiest long-distance travel day overall, with the Wednesday before Thanksgiving remaining the heaviest. You’ll still run into some snafus flying out on Tuesday or Thursday, but it will at least be a touch lighter.

Summer Fridays

Fridays in June, July and August are the busiest days of the summer, as recreational travel peaks when schools are out for summer. Parents take Fridays off and leave early before the long weekends of Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. Beach destinations such as Florida see the majority of travel. Spring break weeks in March and April also see a spike in airline travel as college students let off some steam.

Contact Valet Connections DTW Parking

Need to hop on a flight without stressing yourself out, even during busy season? Call Valet Connections DTW Parking to book your parking spot or some of our extra services. Call (734) 992-4946 or visit our app.