The busiest travel days of the year are here — but will it be calm or chaos?

Steve st. Martin and king john Candy's incubus journeying to do it home for the holidays in the 1987 movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles can feel all too familiar this time of year — perhaps minus a punch in the face from a taxi dispatcher.

The next few days are expected to be the busiest travel days of 2025, as hordes of people make their way through airports, train stations and down snowy highways to visit family, get home or fly south to escape winter.

Given the winter storm that just walloped parts of the country, you might be wondering what kind of ride you're in for this year.

There are generally a lot of weather-related challenges over the holidays, like extreme cold, deep snow and freezing rain, to name a few, says David Phillips, climatologist emeritus with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

But with the caveat that Canada is a huge country with many different climates, and that Christmas is still days away and "a week is like an eternity in weather," Phillips says he doesn't see anything too drastic coming our way this year.

"It's not going to cause us a lot of grief," he said.

There is rain forecast in Vancouver, he said, and flurries and clear skies through much of the Prairies. By Tuesday, he says he sees sunshine in Winnipeg, mixed precipitation and flurries through much of southern Ontario, flurries in Halifax and St. John's, and crisp, clear skies in Nunavut.

"This is nature's gift to us."

Toronto Pearson Airport gearing up for busy holiday travel season

Then there's the travel itself. If you're planning to fly, you're far from alone: airports are expecting a surge in passengers over the next few days.

The Ottawa Airport Authority says it expects Dec. 21 to 23 to be its busiest travel days, with most flights at or near capacity, according to a statement posted to its website. The Vancouver International Airport said Thursday was its busiest day. The Calgary airport says it expects 1.48 million travellers through the month of December.  

"It's going to be very busy but the airport is prepared for these busy periods," Davidson said.

The Toronto airport sees a lot of domestic travel this time of year, he said, with people travelling to places like Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal to visit family and friends. But they also get a surge of people heading to sunny destinations like Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Cancun, Mexico.

The travel trends this year are no different, Davidson added.

Just busier.

"We're seeing even more people going to those destinations ... The demand for travel is very strong."

Weather can always impact flights, he added, so it's important to check the forecast in the city you're flying from, as well as your destination. Travellers should also give themselves enough time at the airport before their flight — two hours for domestic flights and three for international, Davidson said.

Tips posted at other airports include reminders to check what you're allowed to carry on, confirm your flight status before you head to the airport, and book parking in advance.

Vancouver airport sees its busiest travel day of the holiday season

Winter weather is notoriously volatile so, as Phillips puts it, "Getting from one place to another is a real bonus this time of year."

Rain, snow, wind and rapidly dropping temperatures are expected in southern Ontario and Quebec, Flisfeder said, which could cause icy conditions on roads and make travel difficult. The snow that had walloped the Prairies will make its way to the Maritimes, he added.

By next week, the weather systems look to be "much less intense," Flisfeder said. But, he added, "these conditions are not locked in yet."

"Things can change," Flisfeder said. "It's going to be important, especially if you are travelling next week, to keep an eye on the forecast and any alerts that may be issued — not just where you are, but where you're going."

Senior Writer & Editor

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