U.S. air travel has always been a barometer of the nation’s mood, and if the first days of December 2025 are any indication, America is restless, resilient, and—at least at the airport—more crowded than ever. The Thanksgiving holiday period ended with a record-breaking 3.13 million passengers screened by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on November 30, the highest single-day total in U.S. history, according to Reuters. Over the 11-day Thanksgiving window, an estimated 31 million travelers took to the skies, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) forecasting more than 360,000 flights in just nine days, a level not seen in about 15 years.
But as millions packed terminals and braced for winter weather, travelers were also met with new rules, fresh disruptions, and some unexpected bargains. On December 1, the TSA announced a new $45 identity verification fee for anyone arriving at airport security without a REAL ID or approved alternative. The agency’s new Confirm.ID system, rolling out February 1, 2026, will verify identities for a $45 charge that covers a 10-day travel window—so frequent flyers can make multiple trips without paying again. TSA officials told SAN that the fee is designed to shift costs from taxpayers to travelers, but they warned that Confirm.ID users should expect longer waits at checkpoints.
More than 94% of U.S. flyers already use REAL IDs, passports, or other accepted documents, TSA data shows. REAL ID requirements, mandated in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, finally went into effect in May 2025 after years of delays. Until now, travelers without compliant IDs could fly after additional screening, but TSA says this process is too labor-intensive to scale. Travel experts have raised concerns that the new system could unfairly impact lower-income or infrequent travelers, and some have joked that the 10-day window makes a person’s “identity expire.”
For those hoping to avoid the fee, TSA’s list of accepted IDs includes REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses or state IDs, U.S. passports or passport cards, DHS trusted traveler cards (like Global Entry), permanent resident cards, U.S. military or DoD IDs, and approved digital IDs at select airports. The agency’s website provides the full rundown.
While new rules were making headlines, the airline industry was still recovering from a turbulent November. The U.S. aviation system had just emerged from a record 43-day federal government shutdown that left a trail of delays and cancellations. According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, airlines experienced at least 19,986 flight delays due to reduced air traffic control staffing. One day saw more than 2,700 cancellations and over 10,000 delays—a level of disruption not seen since early October. Delta Airlines alone reported delays or cancellations on more than half its mainline flights that day. The FAA ended mandated flight cuts at 40 major airports on November 17, citing improved staffing, but the financial and operational aftershocks are still being felt.
The Thanksgiving rush didn’t just test the system’s capacity; it collided with a rare software recall affecting roughly 6,000 Airbus A320-family aircraft worldwide. The issue came to light after an October 30 in-flight control problem on a JetBlue A320, apparently triggered by solar radiation, forced the plane to divert to Tampa. Regulators ordered a swift software patch, and as of December 2, fewer than 100 A320-family jets remained grounded while the fix was installed, according to CBS News. JetBlue, which operates an all-Airbus fleet and was directly involved in the original incident, completed mandated updates on its A320 and A321 fleet and resumed normal operations by December 2. Still, the airline warned that the recall would trim its fourth-quarter capacity by about 0.25% and flagged a one-point hit to quarterly operational performance due to both Hurricane Melissa and shutdown-related cancellations.
JetBlue canceled about 170 flights over Thanksgiving weekend—roughly 7% of its schedule on Sunday, November 30—while applying the software fix, FlightAware data reported by CBS News indicated. Other U.S. carriers including Frontier and Spirit also scrambled to install the updates, though Frontier reported completing its work with “no impact to customers.”
As if that weren’t enough, winter storms in the Midwest and Great Lakes dumped up to 8–10 inches of snow, causing more than 1,400 flight cancellations in Chicago alone on November 29-30. Across the U.S. on November 30, there were 12,113 flight delays and 1,424 cancellations, with major impacts at airports in Chicago, New York, Boston, Des Moines, Fort Lauderdale, and Detroit, according to WTOP.
Despite these headwinds, airlines are fighting back with aggressive sales. December 2 marked “Travel Tuesday,” and carriers across the board rolled out deep discounts. Spirit Airlines offered 60% off base fares for travel between December 9, 2025, and March 4, 2026, while Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines launched buy-one-get-one deals on select long-haul leisure routes, including Tokyo, Seoul, and Sydney. American Airlines’ fare sale ran from November 28 through December 2, with discounted fares for travel January 6 to February 11, 2026, and a 21-day advance purchase requirement. United made headlines with a new long-term partnership with Travelport to accelerate “modern airline retailing,” aiming to bundle fares and personalized offers more effectively.
Meanwhile, Airbus confirmed a contained “quality issue” with metal panels on some A320 aircraft as of December 2, but stressed that fewer than 100 aircraft are immobilized after both software and panel issues. Analysts noted that Airbus has not changed its 2025 delivery guidance, suggesting the disruption is manageable. In fact, global commercial aircraft deliveries in October 2025 hit their strongest level since 2018, with 132 aircraft delivered—a 67% year-on-year increase, according to Aerospace Global News. By the end of October, Airbus and Boeing had delivered 1,092 aircraft, 25% more than at the same point in 2024. The global backlog stands at over 16,000 aircraft, equivalent to more than 16 years of production at current rates, with narrowbody jets (the backbone of U.S. domestic fleets) making up the bulk of that order book.
For travelers, the message is clear: expect crowds, especially around holidays. Build in extra time at the airport and keep an eye on weather forecasts—especially for Midwest and Northeast hubs. If you’re flying on an Airbus A320-family jet, check your flight status often, as last-minute aircraft swaps and schedule tweaks are still possible while the final wave of fixes is completed. And if you’re flexible, Travel Tuesday deals could be a boon for winter and early-spring trips—just be sure to read the fine print for blackout dates and other restrictions.
As the dust settles on a record-setting Thanksgiving and the industry pivots to the busy Christmas and New Year’s period, U.S. airlines are showing both their vulnerability and their tenacity. New rules, technical hiccups, and weather woes may test the system, but the appetite for air travel is undiminished—and for now, the skies remain as busy as ever.
