Labor Day Travel and Traffic Updates - August 25, 2025

Dateline: Nationwide - As Americans and global travelers prepare for the forthcoming Labor Day weekend, major transportation hubs and traffic‐control agencies reported significant activity and offered guidance to cope with holiday pressures.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Readies for Record Crowds

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is bracing for its busiest Labor Day Monday yet, with a projected 193,000 passengers passing through security-up 9 percent from the 2023 holiday peak. Airline and airport officials urged travelers to arrive at least two hours before domestic departures and three hours for international flights, citing ongoing gate‐area construction and heightened TSA staffing to maintain security‐screening wait times under 30 minutes for standard lines and under 10 minutes for PreCheck.

Île-de-France Traffic Remains Heavy on Last Vacation Weekday

In the Paris region, Bison Futé upgraded Monday, August 25, to an “orange” congestion warning, indicating significant slowdowns on key radial routes:

  • A10 southbound (Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines → Wissous)
  • A6 northbound (Corbeil-Essonnes → Wissous) Motorists were advised to avoid peak hours-12 PM to 4 PM-and to consult real‐time updates via the Bison Futé website and local radio (107.7 FM).

AAA’s latest analysis of booking data for August 28-September 1 shows domestic travel reservations are up 9 percent year-over-year, with Seattle, Orlando, and New York topping destination lists. Inrix traffic data pinpointed optimal driving times for holiday road trips:

  • Monday, Sept. 1: Before 12 PM
  • Worst congestion: 1 PM-4 PM Long-distance journeys into and out of major metros (e.g., New York → Hamptons, Atlanta → Charleston) may see travel times 30-100 percent above normal.

Travelers should plan ahead, check flight statuses and traffic feeds, and consider off-peak travel windows to ensure smoother journeys ahead of Labor Day’s unofficial bookend to summer.