FAA sounds alarm as summer flyers approach July's biggest air traffic crunch

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Clint Henderson, managing editor of The Points Guy, reported a record 72.2 million Americans were expected to travel July 4th weekend. Travelers taking to the skies today are expected to face the busiest air travel day of July. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is forecasting over 56,000 flights nationwide for Thursday, July 9, the agency told Fox News Digital. The FAA's latest forecast calls for 56,311 flights, just eight fewer than the 56,319 flights recorded on June 25, the busiest day of the year so far. AIRLINES PREPARE FOR RECORD-BREAKING SPRING BREAK TRAVEL SURGE AS AMERICANS 'PRIORITIZE EXPERIENCES' The timing may surprise some travelers, with the busiest flying day of the month falling nearly a week after the Fourth of July rather than during the holiday weekend itself. New York-based travel expert Lee Abbamonte told Fox News Digital