Atlanta Airport Summer Travel Forecast 2024

ATLANTA — Hartsfield Jackson International Airport is gearing up for the summer season because airfare prices are lower than they were a year ago.

The world’s busiest airport expects 2.5 million passengers to pass through Atlanta between Wednesday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 29. Memorial Day, which marks the unofficial start of the summer travel season, is May 27.

On Tuesday, Hartsfield officials will meet with representatives from the TSA and AAA to discuss ways to make summer travel easier.

Sydney Jackson, who was in Atlanta to spend Mother’s Day weekend with family, said her travel itinerary over the next few months was long. She has already been to Central America this year.

“We also have a trip planned at the end of July to visit the Caribbean,” Jackson said. “We also went to Miami last week.”

Her trip to the Caribbean comes with tickets that are a bargain this year.

According to travel search engine Kayak, domestic airfares are currently down 13% compared to last year. Sydney’s trip to the Caribbean costs 15% less than a year ago, and a trip to Europe is 7% cheaper than last year.

According to travel site Hopper, this is the first time since 2020 that airfares have fallen compared to the previous year. Hopper predicts airline tickets will reach an average price of $315 per ticket in late May or early June.

Hotel prices will average about $240 a night this summer, according to Hopper. Rental cars cost an average of $46 per day, which is about the same as last year.

The half-dozen trips Sydney Jackson has planned may not be enough to satisfy her hunger.

“I think I’m going to visit a friend of mine in New York, too,” Jackson said.

By the end of summer, she and her suitcase will have created many memories together.