TUS Prepares for Holiday Travel

The holiday season takes off with 259,000 passengers utilizing Tucson International Airport. TUS expects to see its busiest day on Dec. 29 with 16,000 travelers. The 2024 TUS holiday season is projected to serve 6% more passengers compared to the same period last year, about 13,600 per day from Dec. 18 – Jan. 5, 2025

Nonstop destinations with the largest year-over-year capacity gains include Dallas (DFW), Denver (DEN), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP), and Portland (PDX).

With 68 daily departures, TUS has a robust and evolving nonstop route network. TUS can connect passengers to nearly 400 destinations around the world with just one stop.

TUS is excited to welcome new flights to Sacramento and our returning seasonal flights including:

• Dallas Love Field (DAL): Daily flights operated by Southwest.
• Denver International Airport (DEN): TUS welcomes back Frontier Airlines. Frontier will be coming back with a nonstop from TUS to Denver starting on March 3, 2025.
• Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW): Daily flights operated by Southwest.
• Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD): Operated by United, with daily departures.
• John Wayne Airport (SNA): Operated by Alaska, the daily route begins on December 19, 2024, and will run until April 21, 2025. 
• Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP): Operated by Delta and Sun Country, For Delta, this route has daily flights through April 13, 2025. For Sun Country, this route has flights 2-5 days a week operating until April 14, 2025. 
• Portland International Airport (PDX): Operated by Alaska, this route has two daily flights until March 18, 2025. After this, Alaska will reduce the number of flights to one a day until April 21, 2025.
• Sacramento International Airport (SMF): This NEW route will be operated by Alaska and Southwest. Alaska will offer daily flights starting January 6, 2025, until April 21, 2025. Southwest will begin this route on March 8, 2025, and operate on the weekends.

Helpful TUS holiday travel tips:

• TSA and airline processing could take longer than usual. About 70% of airline passengers travel once a year or less, which means they may not be familiar with the security process. Even if you are an experienced traveler, it is wise to give yourself some extra time at the airport.
• Expect your flight to be full, even on slower travel days, flights will be full.
• Check with your airline for the most up to date flight status information.