This Is Shaping Up to Be the Busiest Holiday Travel Season on Record
TSA and the FAA are both projecting record numbers this year. If you're meeting a parent, a client, or a VIP guest, it's worth planning the pickup, not just the flight.
Records, again
Every major travel period in 2026 so far — Fourth of July, the summer peak, the run-up to the winter holidays — has broken the previous year's record, according to TSA and FAA figures. The trend line isn't flattening.
What that actually looks like at the airport
More flights, more gates in use at once, more people trying to find each other in the same arrivals hall at the same time. Curbside pickup zones that already run tight in a normal week get worse fast in a record one.
The moment that goes wrong most often
Not the flight — the ten minutes after it lands, when a delayed connection, a gate change, or a crowded exit means the person meeting you isn't where you expected, or isn't there yet.
Plan the landing, not just the departure
A greeter tracks the actual flight, not a scheduled time, and adjusts automatically when the flight does. For a parent flying in for the holidays, or a client landing between two meetings, that's one less thing to coordinate by text message from baggage claim.