After the post-pandemic travel boom saw international departures soar in 2023, the landscape has shifted. In 2025, the era of “revenge travel” has given way to a more moderate demand for international trips, with growth normalizing as economic uncertainty comes into play. While the winter holiday season remains a peak period for U.S. travelers heading abroad, the overall volume is no longer on the explosive upward trajectory seen in previous years.
One might assume that a leveling off in demand would automatically lead to shorter lines at airport security and customs. However, the reality is more complex. As passenger forecasts adjust, airports and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may recalibrate staffing. This can create a delicate balance where even a modest holiday surge can outpace available resources, leading to unexpected bottlenecks.
“Even with air travel demand normalizing in 2025, airport choice is still the biggest swing factor for customs wait times,” explains Alex Miller, founder and CEO of Upgraded Points — a travel and finance website.
Fortunately, even in this evolving travel climate, many factors within the traveler’s control — including choice of airport and arrival time — can increase the likelihood of an efficient travel day this holiday season.
Average Customs Wait Times for U.S. Citizens vs. Non-U.S. Citizens
Despite common perceptions, immigration and customs wait times at U.S. international airports are typically reasonable, even during the winter holiday period (the week before Christmas through the New Year holiday). The average wait time during the winter holidays in 2024 was 22 minutes, aligning closely with the rest of the year. Nearly half of travelers (45.5%) enjoyed wait times of 15 minutes or less, while a mere 5.8% endured waits of 60 minutes or more.
However, factors such as arrival time and citizenship status significantly impact how long it takes travelers to clear these checkpoints. Arrival between 5 a.m. and 3 p.m. results in approximately 26% longer wait times compared to other hours of the day. Likewise, non-U.S. citizens can expect to wait an astounding 97% longer than U.S. citizens, with non-citizens averaging 29.8 minutes and U.S. citizens averaging 15.1 minutes for clearing immigration and customs.
Airport Immigration and Customs Wait Times During the Winter Holidays
When it comes to wait times, airport choice is the single most important factor. And perhaps surprisingly, there isn’t a strong correlation between immigration wait times and airport size. For example, out of 41 major international airports in the U.S. tracked by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection:
- Orlando International Airport (MCO) is ranked 11th by international travel volume during the 2024 winter holiday, but reported the worst average wait time at 32.7 minutes.
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) ranks third for winter holiday international travel volume as well as second for longest average wait time.
- Nashville International Airport (BNA) is ranked 39th by international travel volume during the 2024 winter holiday but reported the third worst average wait time at 27.9 minutes.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) reported the shortest average winter holiday wait time in 2024 at 3.8 minutes. However, it’s worth noting that PBI is also the nation’s smallest international airport in terms of passenger traffic.
Similarly, John Wayne Airport (SNA) had the second shortest international wait time during the winter holiday at 4.9 minutes and also had the second lowest international passenger volume.
In stark contrast, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) distinguished itself by efficiently processing a substantial volume of international passengers. Despite PHX being nearly 10 times busier than PBI and SNA combined, the average wait time during the holiday season was only marginally longer, standing at just 7 minutes.
This analysis was conducted using the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. The data shown is for travelers passing through immigration and customs during the 2024 winter holiday travel season (the week before Christmas through the New Year holiday). For a complete breakdown for all 41 major U.S. international airports tracked by the CBP, see The Worst Airports for International Travel This Holiday Season on Upgraded Points.
Methodology
Image Credit: Brandon Jenner on Shutterstock
The data used in this study is from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP Airport Wait Times dataset.
To determine the best and worst airports for international travel this winter holiday season, researchers at Upgraded Points calculated average wait times for travelers passing through customs during the 2024 winter holiday travel season (the week before Christmas through the New Year holiday). All major U.S. international airports tracked by the CBP were included. Researchers also calculated the average max wait time for all travelers, which is a total traveler-weighted average of the hourly maximum wait times reported for each airport over the study period.
Average holiday wait times for U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens, the percentage of all travelers that passed through customs in under 15 minutes, and the percentage of all travelers that passed through customs in greater than 60 minutes during the same time period were also included.
For complete results, see The Worst Airports for International Travel This Holiday Season [2025 Data Study] on Upgraded Points.
