Labor Day weekend is almost upon us. That means plenty of fun and frivolity in the final “unofficial weekend of summer” for many families before school is back in session. It also means plenty of tourists stuck at airports and on the roads in traffic. Orbitz.com is one of the more popular travel websites on the internet and they have listed the airports that they anticipate will be the busiest during the Labor Day holiday period along with the most popular travel destinations in the United States. These projections were based on ticket sales that Orbitz has noted from their web site. The lists were released in a recent press release.
It is anticipated that Chicago O’Hare International Airport will be the most popular U.S. Airport this Labor Day Weekend Holiday season. Last year’s busiest airport during the same time frame was Las Angeles International Airport and Orbitz expects it to fall out of the top five busiest airports this year for the holiday period. The second busiest airport is a bit of a surprise in Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC. Last year it was the 17th busiest during the time period. The next three rounding out the top five are Philadelphia International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and McCarran International Airport.
Tacoma Airport Seattle departures were delayed due to Labor Day celebrations a couple of years back and travelers had no choice but to remain put for hours together which caused tremendous pandemonium and this has become a norm at all US airports since many decades. The weekends are quite a celebration time for all the locals in the vicinity and the airports are decorated in such a way that they are the cynosure of all eyes.
“Those heading to airports on a holiday weekend should always expect heavy traffic, and it’s important to know where the big crowds will be,” said Heather Leisman, senior director of merchandising for Orbitz. “As we may see record numbers of U.S. travelers this holiday, our Insider staff picks highlight some popular but also not-so-crowded destinations to consider.”
The top ten travel destinations that Orbitz lists are based on airline ticket sales on their websites, with the number one choice being New York City. Chicago, Illiois will not only have the busiest airport of the holiday period, but they will also be the second most popular U.S. City as a travel destination. The top five are rounded out by two west coast cities with L.A. at number 3 and San Francisco at number 5, with Washington, D.C. ranked fourth in between those two cities.
The sixth through tenth ranked travel destinations start with two east coast cities. Boston is ranked number six, followed by Philadelphia at number seven. The remaining three cities on the list are all western U.S. locations. Seattle leads the group at number eight, followed by Denver at number nine and Phoenix rounds out the top ten destinations according to Orbitz.
Travelers should use these lists to make their own decisions. Some will want to go and be where the action is and visit the locations at the top of the list. Meanwhile others will choose to avoid those locations at all costs to avoid the crowds. The unofficial end of the summer vacation season is approaching quickly, and hopefully these lists will be helpful to the late planners reading them.
