Travel Tips for the Labor Day Rush

Summer doesn’t end until Sept. 23, according to the calendar, but the Labor Day weekend typically marks the last gasp of the season in the U.S. as school resumes and vacations wrap up.

That final chance to soak up some sun at the beach means airports get a little bit busier over the holiday, with the Transportation Security Administration expecting to screen more than 14 million passengers from Sept. 1-6 this year.

That’s a significant increase over pre-pandemic numbers during the same summer travel period, making it the busiest summer travel period on record.

“We anticipate this Labor Day holiday weekend will be busy, with passenger volumes nearly 11% higher than last year—volumes that already exceeded 2019 Labor Day holiday travel volumes,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske in a release.

TSA expects this Labor Day weekend to be significantly busier than last year with passenger volumes projected to increase 11 percent year-over-year. This increase is also projected to cause volumes to exceed pre-pandemic figures. (Photo by Beth Hollerich)

At Pittsburgh International Airport, officials say capacity—or the number of seats on inbound and outbound aircraft—will not change much from typical August numbers, with about 160,000 seats scheduled from Sept. 1-5, but the number of passengers served will likely increase, meaning fuller airplanes.

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