47M Fourth of July Travelers: AAA
When looking at the week of the Fourth of July in 2017, including the weekends before and after the holiday, AirHelp found that more than 47,000 flights were disrupted.

Fridays before and after July Fourth were the busiest travel days during the holiday period in 2017.
Photo via Dan Nguyen/Flickr.
The AAA reports that more than 46.9 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more for Fourth of July celebrations. When looking at the holiday week in 2017, including the weekends before and after the holiday, AirHelp found that more than 47,000 flights were disrupted, and that the Fridays before and after July 4 were the busiest travel days within this period.
Below is more data from last year's Fourth of July travel period, which can help inform passengers about what to expect this year:
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) had the highest number of on-time flights.
Travelers are eligible to claim more than $195 million in compensation from disruptions experienced during this period under European law EC 261.
The 10 most disrupted flight routes were:
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Portland International Airport (PDX)
LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Canada's Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
Related: 36.6M People to Hit the Road for Memorial Day
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