CHICAGO (WLS) — The Transportation Security Administration expects 2025 to be another record-setting year for holiday travel.
Nearly 1,000 flights were canceled nationwide as of Saturday evening, but thankfully in Chicago, only a relative handful were impacted by a major winter storm in the Northeast.
Saturday was expected to be the busiest day for flying at Midway Airport.
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The holiday travel rush is resuming as people head home before the new year. Both roads and airports across the country were expected to be busy on Saturday.
The “busiest square mile in aviation” is the nickname for Chicago’s Midway Airport, which saw it’s busiest travel day of the two week holiday period. More than 48,000 people flew in and out of Chicago’s Southwest Side airport on Saturday.
“We went to Hawaii for Christmas,” said Lakena Russ, who was returning to Chicago. “We just got back this morning and she’s heading out to Virginia. She’s going to spend the rest with her dad.”
Despite a flurry of weather-related delays and cancellations nationwide, only four flights had been cancelled at Midway as of early Saturday evening. At O’Hare, the number was 61.
“I went to Puerto Rico, and then I went on a cruise to the Virgin Islands,” said Donesha Clifford, who was returning to Chicago. “I’m trying to keep a smile.”
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According to the Chicago Department of Aviation, nearly 4.8 million passengers are expected to travel through Chicago’s airports during the holiday travel season, which ends on Monday, January 5. That is a nearly 6% increase over last year.
At O’Hare airport, the projected busiest travel day already happened last week.
Unsurprisingly, warm weather destinations seemed to be the theme for returning Chicagoans.
“I went to visit family. So that was pretty sick,” said Hanah Dih, who was returning to Chicago. “I went to San Diego, so the weather was so much better than it is here.”
On Friday, there were also some cancellations at O’Hare and Midway, mostly due to weather as storms moved through the west and east coasts.
For those driving to their destinations, traffic on the roads was also expected to be busiest from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the weekend.
While Saturday was the busiest travel day at Midway, Sunday is shaping up to be a record breaker nationally as airlines who moved planes out of the storms path are now getting them back into place.
Winter weather hits Northeast as new storm system moves across country
The New York City area accumulated just short of 3 inches of snow as difficult travel conditions are expected through Saturday morning while crews work to clean up this wintry mess.
Meanwhile, low temperatures across the Northeast from Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh to the North and East will be near or below freezing on Saturday night, allowing for refreezing of any slush or snow that’s still on the ground.
Another system will move through the region late Sunday into Monday but will be mostly rain, though some wintry mix will be possible into higher elevations.
On Saturday, the Rocky Mountains will get snow from Idaho and Montana through Wyoming and Colorado. On Sunday, some snow may linger in the Colorado Rockies and into northern New Mexico.
Next week is expected to start off wet for the East on Monday and will bring mostly rain to the East Coast, with some snow and wintry mix possible for the Great Lakes.
Most of the country should see dry and quiet weather leading up to New Year’s Eve, with the West seasonably warm and the East seasonably cooler.
After New Year’s, a new weather pattern will stick around for the start of 2026 as warmer temperatures should stick around for most of the West and reach down into parts of the South.
ABC News contributed to this report.
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