Over 360,000 TPA travelers expected throughout 4th of July weekend

Millions to travel across the U.S. for the 4th

FOX 13's Kylie Jones shares what to expect at Tampa International Airport as hundreds of thousands are expected to come through for the 4th of July weekend.

TAMPA - The 4th of July holiday weekend is expected to be the peak of summer travel for Tampa International Airport.

AAA is also expecting a busy weekend on the roads, estimating 61.6 million Americans will take road trips.

Airport officials say the entire summer is a busy travel season for TPA.

What they're saying:

"We're expecting around 364,000 passengers coming through Tampa International Airport over the 4th of July weekend, so it'll be very busy," Beau Zimmer, TPA Communications Manager said.

The busiest days are expected to be Thursday through Monday.

Airport officials say the highest traffic is 6-7 a.m., and 6-7 p.m.

"Earlier in the day, typically you're going to have a better chance at your flights getting out on time, not having as many weather issues," Zimmer said. "As we know, in this part of Florida, late in the afternoon, we do see those daily afternoon thunderstorms."

TPA officials warn that summer storms could cause delays, especially when there's lightning.

"The airlines have people trying to take bags on and off of planes, trying to fuel up the aircraft," Zimmer said. "And when the lightning is within a certain number of miles of the airport, they've got to shut down those operations, bring everybody inside for safety."

READ: Drop in TPA passengers through first half of 2025 fiscal year

TPA officials are encouraging travelers to give themselves extra time, as always.

If you're driving out of town for the holiday weekend, AAA says you can find more information about safety tips and resources by visiting AAA.com or downloading the AAA Mobile app.

Security warnings

Ahead of the busy weekend, the FBI put out a warning about the cyber criminal group, "Scattered Spider", targeting the airline sector.

The FBI says the hackers often impersonate employees or contractors to get access to systems and steal sensitive data or install ransomware.

The agency says they target large corporations and third-party IT providers, putting airline companies and vendors at risk.

"Industry-wide, everyone is on a heightened level of alert, watching out for any possible hacks or people trying to infiltrate the computer systems," Zimmer said. "So, that's just something that we're always on high alert for, but especially at this time."

Airport officials say they're always on high alert for these types of threats, especially during busy travel periods.

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