Denver International Airport is gearing up for a bustling holiday week with an estimated 10% increase in travelers compared to last year.

Between Friday and Dec. 1, the airport is expecting 845,000 passengers to travel through TSA checkpoints, a nearly 10% percent increase from the same period in 2024, according to a press release from DIA.

The airport estimates that the busiest days will be Nov. 25, Nov. 29 and Nov. 30 with more than 271,000 total passengers expected to move through security screening on those three days.

Nov. 30 is projected to be the busiest day of the weekend with more than 96,000 passengers expected to be screened.

United Airlines echoed the sentiment, with the airline expecting to see more than 600,000 people flying with them from Denver between Nov. 20 and Dec. 2 — an average of more than 50,000 people flying United from Denver each day.

Overall, United is expecting about 6.6 million customers over the travel period nationally, about 300,000 more people than last year and the most the company has flown during the holiday, according to a press release.

The surge in flights comes directly after the Federal Aviation Administration reduced air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” airports in the U.S. on Nov. 6 due to traffic controllers shortages during the government shutdown.

The government opened a week later, ending the reduced air traffic on Nov. 16.

Interestingly, United saw bookings for Thanksgiving weekend raise by 15% after the shutdown ended, according to the release.

Passengers are encouraged to check TSA security wait times at FlyDenver.com/security, download the airline’s app for real-time updates, and to arrive inside the airport at least two hours before their boarding time.

HIGHWAYS WILL BE BUSY, TOO

The airways won’t be the only form of transportation experiencing heightened traffic during the holiday week.

Those driving around or through Colorado will also be hit with an increased amount of drivers between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) projects at least 73 million people will travel by car in the country — nearly 90% of Thanksgiving travelers and an additional 1.3 million people on the road compared to last Thanksgiving, according to a press release.

INRIX, a provider of transportation data, expects Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon to be the most congested periods before Thanksgiving Day.

Luckily (or unluckily if you’re waiting for snow) road conditions should remain clear through the weekend, with little-to-no snow still in sight.

The National Weather Service Boulder is expecting partly sunny days with highs around 55 degrees for both Thursday and Friday in metro Denver.

Areas in the Front Range of Jefferson County could experience a bit of snow on Thursday and Friday, but the highs are still expected to be in the 50s.

Denver International Airport has not recorded any measurable snow since April 18, which is currently 214 days ago, and the city is teetering on having a new record for latest first snow. Measurable snow is anything over one-tenth of an inch.

Still, that drought translates into smooth sailing for drivers around the metro — unless traffic slows you down.