Holiday travel
Thanksgiving at DTW
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Detroit, MI. July 2023 – July 2026. Set against DTW’s own ordinary days of the same weekday in the weeks around each holiday.
The window, year by year
The window runs the Wednesday before through the Sunday after, around Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday of November). In the data: Nov 22–26, 2023; Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2024; Nov 26–30, 2025. Three windows are in the data: enough to see whether a day repeats, not enough to call it a rule.
Compared with ordinary days, Thanksgiving flights were about the same in one and worse in two of the three years. The gap ran from 23.1 points below usual in 2024 to 1.0 point below usual in 2023.
1.25% of scheduled departures were cancelled across the Thanksgiving windows, against 0.81% on ordinary days of the same weekdays. It was lower in two of the three years and higher in one.
| Year | Departures | On time | Usual | Gap, points | Cancelled | Usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023Nov 22–26, 2023 | 1,608 | 81.8% | 82.8% | −1.0about the same | 0.00% | 0.81% |
| 2024Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2024 | 1,752 | 59.7% | 82.8% | −23.1worse | 0.06% | 0.81% |
| 2025Nov 26–30, 2025 | 1,538 | 61.0% | 82.7% | −21.7worse | 3.90% | 0.81% |
| All years3 windows | 4,898 | 67.5% | 82.8% | −15.3worse | 1.25% | 0.81% |
Day by day
The Sunday after Thanksgiving was the worst day of the window in two of the three years. Over the years it ran 40.1% on time, 39.1 points below an ordinary Sunday.
Thanksgiving Day was the best day of the window in two of the three years. Over the years it ran 93.1% on time, 11.7 points above an ordinary Thursday.
Thanksgiving Day itself carried 40% fewer departures than an ordinary Thursday and ran 93.1% on time.
- Better than usual
- Worse than usual
- About the same
- What ordinary days of the same weekday had
- Lowest to highest single year
- Lighter bars: days just outside the window
Bars show the on-time arrival rate and start at 20%, not zero.
| Day | Departures against an ordinary day | On time | Usual | Gap, points | Cancelled | Each year: 2023, 2024, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday beforeoutside the window | 2% more | 88.2% | 80.8% | +7.4better | 0.00% | 91.4 · 87.1 · 86.2 |
| Tuesday beforeoutside the window | 10% more | 84.7% | 83.8% | +0.9about the same | 0.09% | 85.5 · 83.2 · 85.6 |
| Wednesday before | 13% more | 83.5% | 85.2% | −1.7about the same | 0.09% | 92.4 · 87.0 · 70.5 |
| Thanksgiving Day | 40% fewer | 93.1% | 81.4% | +11.7better | 0.31% | 95.9 · 95.9 · 86.7 |
| Friday after | 20% fewer | 72.2% | 80.4% | −8.2worse | 0.00% | 92.7 · 38.8 · 88.0 |
| Saturday after | 19% more | 59.9% | 86.6% | −26.7worse | 2.42% | 89.6 · 41.2 · 49.4 |
| Sunday after | 6% more | 40.1% | 79.2% | −39.1worse | 2.72% | 47.0 · 46.6 · 24.2 |
| Monday afteroutside the window | 5% more | 56.1% | 80.8% | −24.7worse | 1.40% | 34.1 · 76.0 · 56.4 |
| Tuesday afteroutside the window | about the same | 66.4% | 83.8% | −17.4worse | 0.81% | 77.6 · 78.4 · 41.4 |
A dash means fewer than 120 flights stood behind the figure, or behind the ordinary days it would be compared with: too few to print a rate, and nothing is estimated in its place. “Usual” is what ordinary days of the same weekday had at the same place in the weeks around the holiday, weighted by the flights being compared.
Which departure times held up
The busiest days at DTW were Wednesday, Nov 22, 2023 (369 departures), Sunday, Nov 26, 2023 (370 departures), Wednesday, Nov 27, 2024 (409 departures), Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 (411 departures), Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025 (361 departures), and Sunday, Nov 30, 2025 (360 departures).
Across the whole window, flights leaving 5–9 AM had the highest on-time rate: 74.2%, still 12.0 points below usual for that time of day. Those leaving 6–9 PM had the lowest: 52.9%, 25.6 points below usual for that time of day.
The holiday cost flights leaving 6–9 PM the most (25.6 points below usual for that time of day) and those leaving 12–3 PM the least (10.8 points below).
On each year’s two busiest days, flights leaving 9 AM–12 PM had the highest on-time rate: 71.8%, still 12.8 points below usual for that time of day. Those leaving 9 PM–5 AM had the lowest: 48.1%, 31.8 points below usual for that time of day.
The holiday cost flights leaving 9 PM–5 AM the most (31.8 points below usual for that time of day) and those leaving 9 AM–12 PM the least (12.8 points below).
| Leaving | On time, whole window | Usual | Gap, points | On time, busiest days | Usual | Gap, points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–9 AM | 74.2% | 86.2% | −12.0worse | 71.1% | 86.4% | −15.3worse |
| 9 AM–12 PM | 72.8% | 85.5% | −12.7worse | 71.8% | 84.6% | −12.8worse |
| 12–3 PM | 72.4% | 83.2% | −10.8worse | 66.0% | 83.2% | −17.2worse |
| 3–6 PM | 65.0% | 79.7% | −14.7worse | 56.7% | 79.5% | −22.8worse |
| 6–9 PM | 52.9% | 78.5% | −25.6worse | 49.7% | 76.9% | −27.2worse |
| 9 PM–5 AM | 56.2% | 81.8% | −25.6worse | 48.1% | 79.9% | −31.8worse |
Cancellations
The worst day for cancellations in each year was Sunday, Nov 30, 2025 (8.33% of that day’s departures, 50% of the window’s cancellations).
DTW beside every covered airport
Storms and outages move whole regions at once. This puts DTW’s year beside the year of all covered airports together, each against its own usual, to show whether DTW did better or worse than the network.
| Year | DTW on time | DTW, gap from usual | All airports on time | All airports, gap from usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023Nov 22–26, 2023 | 81.8% | −1.0 | 83.7% | +1.9 |
| 2024Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2024 | 59.7% | −23.1 | 82.6% | +0.8 |
| 2025Nov 26–30, 2025 | 61.0% | −21.7 | 72.8% | −9.0 |
For every holiday at once, see the five holidays at DTW, or the network view.