Air Transport Association of America (ATA) is forecasting that approximately 42 million passengers will travel globally on U.S. airlines during the 2006 winter holiday seasonThis is for the 21-day period from Thursday, Dec. 14, 2006, through Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007 - an estimated increase of 2.4 percent compared to the same 21-day period a year earlier.

The nation’s airlines expect average load factors to exceed 80 percent and are projecting the busiest days to be Thursday, Dec. 21 (approximately 2.3 million passengers), Friday, Dec. 22 (approximately 2.2 million passengers) and Tuesday, Dec. 26 (approximately 2.2 million passengers).

“On the heels of a successful Thanksgiving travel period - thanks in part to fairly cooperative weather - our airlines are committed to doing all we can so that customers find their time with us to be both pleasant and efficient,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. “With continued preparedness and a little patience, we can all have a great holiday travel experience.”

 

To ensure a smooth travel experience this winter holiday travel season, ATA reminds passengers to:

 

Bring unwrapped gifts - they may need to be inspected by security
Use automated check-in options, offered via airline Web sites and at airport kiosks, up to 24 hours before departure.

Check with your airline in advance for specific policy or airport recommendations and allow plenty of time to get to the airport, check in, go through security and get to the gate.

Bring a current government-issued photo identification card and learn the TSA 3-1-1 for carry-on baggage and the permitted and prohibited list. 
Place all metallic objects (e.g., loose change, keys, pens, cell phone, watch, camera) in your carry-on bag before arriving at the security checkpoint. 
Identify all baggage with your name and contact information, both on the inside and outside, and remove all old-destination baggage tags from previous trips.
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