Methodology
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The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Airline On-Time Performance database. Researchers at Luxury Link analyzed domestic commercial flight activity and operational performance surrounding the Fourth of July holiday period, using data from 2023 through 2025. To reduce the impact of year-to-year anomalies, all flight, delay, and cancellation metrics were calculated using three-year daily averages.
For the airline traffic analysis, arriving flights were defined as domestic commercial flight segments operated by reporting carriers. The data exclude cargo-only flight operations, general aviation flights, and commercial flights operated by airlines that account for less than 0.5% of domestic scheduled passenger revenue. Researchers compared average daily flight activity during the week ending on July 4th with average daily activity during the remainder of the year. Flight delays were categorized using Bureau of Transportation Statistics definitions, including flights delayed by at least 15 minutes and flights delayed by more than three hours.
To identify the destinations experiencing the largest Independence Day travel surges, researchers calculated the percentage difference between average daily arriving flights during the week ending on July 4th and average daily arriving flights during the rest of the year for each city market and state. City market populations were estimated using U.S. Census Bureau population data. For relevance, the analysis included metropolitan areas, nonmetropolitan markets, and outlying cities with distinct city markets located within larger metropolitan regions. Only locations with sufficient flight and population data were included. Delaware (Wilmington Airport, ILG) was excluded because it lacked qualifying commercial service from reporting carriers during the study period.
For complete results, see The Most Popular U.S. Travel Destinations During the 4th of July on Luxury Link.
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