DENVER (KDVR) — Over 150 flights are delayed at Denver International Airport on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
As millions head home after the holidays or go on a newly unwrapped vacation, travelers will be met with long security lines and full flights.
According to DIA officials, the holiday travel buzz is expected to last through the new year, but Friday is expected to be among its busiest days. An estimated 83,307 passengers will travel through security checkpoints on Friday, just shy of 2024’s highest totals.
Officials at DIA said the busiest hours of the day will be 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., with the highest volume of passengers going through security daily from:
6 a.m. to noon
3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
With those long security lines, travelers at DIA are being met with delayed and even some canceled flights.
According to FlightAware, at 12:05 a.m., 195 flights were delayed and 14 were canceled. Southwest had the majority of the delays with 68 flights impacted. United had the second most with 67 flights impacted.
While Denver already has over 150 delays, DIA is not the worst airport in the U.S. as of 11:20 a.m. According to FlightAware’s Misery Map, DIA was fifth, with the worst airport being Dallas-Fort Worth.
At 11:20 a.m., DIA said the South Security checkpoint had a 14-minute wait with a 15-minute TSA PreCheck wait. West Security had a two-minute wait and a five-minute TSA PreCheck wait. Wait times do fluctuate nearly every minute, so travelers can check the status of the two security checkpoints on DIA’s website.
Travelers can check their flight information with their airline or on DIA’s website.
