Travelers head en masse to Chicago airports this Sunday between Christmas and New Year's
CHICAGO (CBS) -- This weekend after Christmas has been a busy one for holiday travel—with millions of people hitting the roads or catching flights.
The Chicago Department of Aviation said it was prepared to welcome approximately 3.66 million passengers to O'Hare and Midway International Airports over the holiday season between Friday, Dec. 20, and Thursday, Jan. 2, based on estimates from air carriers.
Sunday, Dec. 29, was expected to be one of the busiest days at Midway International Airport in particular. The CDA is projecting more than 51,000 people will travel through the airport on Sunday alone.
During the time CBS News Chicago was at Midway on Sunday, the flow of people came in waves.
"It's actually been really good," said Carol Vazquez, who was traveling to Tampa. "I was surprised, because I was thinking there would be a lot more congestion—you know, getting here, getting in—but for a Sunday, it's been nice."
Aviation experts also expected Sunday to be busy at O'Hare International Airport on Sunday. But they believe the peak day at Chicago's largest and busiest airport already happened ahead on Monday, Dec. 23, with nearly 243,000 passengers.
During the 14-day travel period through Thursday, Jan. 2, O'Hare is projected to welcome nearly 3.5 million passengers, a 7.8% increase compared to 2023.
That represents an additional 220,000 passengers.
"I've flown out of O'Hare a lot of times over the years, and I try not to go there if I can help it," said Vazquez.
During the two-week travel period, Midway will welcome nearly 613,000 passengers, which is on par with last year.
"It seems like it should be a lot lower—I mean, a lot more, right?" said Denise Cogut, who came to Chicago to visit family for the holidays. "I really like Midway. I choose Midway over O'Hare."
Through Jan. 2, the Transportation Security Administration expects to screen roughly 40 million passengers during this holiday travel period.
Although it was calm at Midway for much of the day Sunday, airport officials said the TSA may experience longer than usual wait times at security checkpoints during the holiday weekend.
Meanwhile, AAA said 90% of holiday travelers planned to drive to their holiday destinations this year—translating to some 107 million people on the road.
