Fourth of July travel picks up steam at O'Hare Airport

July Fourth travel is already ramping up to record levels in Chicago, a week out from Independence Day celebrations.

CHICAGO - The rush is on in Terminal 3 at O’Hare International Airport. American Airlines declared Thursday the official start of Independence Day travel.

Lines are long at times, extending the length of the terminal. It’s the biggest July 4th operation ever for American Airlines.

The airline’s summer schedule has more than 4,000 flights at O’Hare, 600 more than the same period last year. The busiest and newest routes are Barcelona, Athens, Rome, and Venice. The busiest day of travel is projected to be Sunday, July 7.

Roughly 6,500 scheduled flights mean more than four American Airlines planes taking off every minute, with today and tomorrow being very busy and hectic.

AAA projects a record year for road trips. They said there will be 60.6 million people on driving trips, 3.7 million of those being in Illinois, going to beaches, lakes and theme parks. These are record numbers and July Fourth is still a week away.

Travel O'Hare International Airport News Holidays