The Cheapest Routes Out of Major Cities for Memorial Day

A few numbers worth having in your head before you search. Skyscanner's 2026 cheapest-destinations analysis found that Wednesday is on average the cheapest day to fly this year, a surprise to the 31% of Americans who guessed Tuesday. Expedia's 2026 Air Travel Hacks Report ranks Friday as the cheapest day to depart domestically, saving up to 8% compared to Sunday. Both datasets agree on Sunday and Monday being the most expensive departure days, which is a problem given that Memorial Day is a Monday.

NerdWallet's analysis of three years of TSA checkpoint data pinpoints the specific days you want to avoid. The Friday before Memorial Day has averaged 2.69 million screenings, the busiest single day. The Sunday after averages 2.62 million. Saturday before and Saturday after both drop to 2.21 million, the quietest days in the entire 13-day window. Flying a day earlier or a day later than the crowd saves money and time at the same checkpoint.

With that framework in mind, here is where flights still make financial sense from the country's biggest departure cities.

New York's advantage is competition. Three major airports, a dozen airlines, and more domestic routes than anywhere else create constant fare pressure. The disadvantage is that every New Yorker has discovered the same three beach destinations, which is why Miami and Fort Lauderdale run peak pricing regardless of calendar position.

Look south and west instead. Flights to Charleston and Savannah typically hold reasonable pricing because all three New York airports serve them daily and the tourist infrastructure absorbs spring visitors without major gouging. New Orleans sits past peak tourist season by late May, which softens prices compared to February and March when Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras drive demand.

For the cheapest options, look at Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Buffalo. None of them appear on anyone's Memorial Day shortlist, which is exactly why their flights and hotels stay affordable. Buffalo also serves as the best cheap jumping-off point for Niagara Falls State Park, which beats a plane full of people going to the same resort.

LA's five-airport region means you can usually find a deal somewhere if you're willing to drive. Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach, and Orange County often undercut LAX by $50 to $100 on the same routes because they attract less business demand.

The cheapest eastbound routes out of LA over Memorial Day weekend tend to be Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City, all served heavily by Southwest and ultra-low-cost carriers. Vegas earned the top spot on Skyscanner's 2026 cheapest destinations list with average round-trip fares of $232, sustained year-round by airline competition supporting convention traffic. Vegas hotels also tend to discount over holiday weekends because the business crowd disappears, which is counterintuitive but real.

Flights north to Portland and Seattle stay reasonable because May is shoulder season in the Pacific Northwest. You are trading guaranteed sunshine for green mountains and cheaper hotels, a trade many LA residents should probably make more often.

Chicago's two-airport setup splits demand cleanly. Midway is Southwest's Midwest stronghold, which means consistent pricing on leisure routes. O'Hare gives you legacy carrier reach and more international connections.

The cheapest Memorial Day routes from Chicago tend to be southern drive-alternatives: Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, and St. Louis. All are bookable inside the final two weeks without major premiums because plenty of travelers decide to drive instead.

Minneapolis and Milwaukee stay cheap because nobody's idea of a Memorial Day destination is a Midwestern city in May, even though Milwaukee's lakefront is genuinely pleasant by late May. The Mitchell Park Domes and lakefront biking cost nothing, and the hotels run roughly half what you'd pay on either coast.

Dallas benefits from two things: being the hub for both American Airlines and Southwest at the same time, and sitting within a short hop of most southern destinations. The cheap flights cluster inside Texas and its immediate neighbors.

Austin, San Antonio, and Houston all run reasonably priced nonstops from both DFW and Love Field. New Orleans and Memphis often show up as deals because Southwest serves both heavily.

Outside the region, the cheapest longer-haul route from Dallas tends to be Denver because of fleet positioning between two major hubs. Skyscanner's Memorial Day coverage has highlighted flights to Denver at fares as low as $34 one-way, with averages around $178. Add in access to Rocky Mountain National Park with a rental car and the value compounds.

Atlanta is Delta's fortress hub, which means ATL offers more nonstop destinations than any airport in the world but also carries Delta's premium pricing on high-demand leisure routes. The cheap flights are the ones with genuine competition.

Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Tampa all have Spirit, Frontier, and JetBlue service alongside Delta, which keeps prices in check even for Memorial Day. Nashville and Charlotte stay reasonable because of the short distances involved.

For readers willing to leave the usual Florida track, Savannah and Charleston are drive-length (4 to 5 hours) from Atlanta and may actually make more sense by car than by air when holiday rental fees and parking factor in.

The Bay Area's three-airport setup works like LA's, with Oakland and San Jose typically $50 to $150 cheaper than SFO on routes they share.

Memorial Day cheap routes out of the Bay Area tend to be Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, and San Diego. Southwest serves all four from Oakland at consistent fares.

Reno stays surprisingly cheap because it functions as a day-trip destination more than a Memorial Day hub, which means airlines haven't maxed out pricing. Reno gets you within an hour of Lake Tahoe for significantly less than flying into the smaller Tahoe-area airports directly.

Boston's Memorial Day challenge is that the entire New England region wants to go to the same places: Cape Cod, Maine, and the Vermont mountains. Flying anywhere domestic tends to mean overpaying unless you get creative.

The cheapest flights out of Boston tend to be west and south: Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Washington D.C. JetBlue runs strong service out of Boston, and its shoulder routes to secondary markets stay competitive.

For something different, Burlington, Vermont typically runs affordable because it is a short flight with limited leisure demand that weekend. Montreal often beats domestic options and delivers an international trip for a long-weekend price, assuming your passport is current.

Denver's advantage is geography: it sits at the midpoint between coasts, making it cheap to reach from almost anywhere and cheap to leave from. Memorial Day cheap routes tend to go to smaller mountain and southwestern destinations.

Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, and Phoenix all run competitively priced nonstops. Austin and Kansas City often beat expectations because of strong Southwest service.

Denver is also one of the few major hubs where flying into a national park gateway stays affordable. Bozeman, Montana for Yellowstone access runs lower than most other origin cities, though book the rental car first because Bozeman runs out of vehicles before it runs out of flights.

A few destinations hold reasonable pricing regardless of origin, which is useful when your home hub's options all look terrible. Skyscanner's 2026 data gives us some anchors.

Las Vegas ranked first on Skyscanner's 2026 cheapest destinations list with average round-trip fares of $232. Airline competition supporting convention traffic keeps fares competitive even during peak leisure periods.

Miami ranked third on the same list with average fares of $284 round-trip. Memorial Day sits at the edge of peak Florida season, which means prices are softening rather than spiking as summer approaches and the snowbird crowd heads home.

Fort Lauderdale topped Dollar Flight Club's 2026 cheap flight forecast with an average round-trip of $95, though the cheapest months are January and September rather than May. Still, it tends to price below Miami year-round.

Pittsburgh =, Cleveland =, and Detroit rarely appear on Memorial Day shortlists, which keeps fares down. All three have enough food, music, and waterfront to justify a weekend trip, and hotel pricing is typically 30 to 50% below coastal equivalents.

Kansas City offers cheap flights from most hubs plus some of the best barbecue infrastructure in the country. Hotel rates stay reasonable and weekend parking is essentially free compared to anywhere on the coasts.

Puerto Rico is the wild card. Because it is technically domestic travel, eastern gateway cities often price San Juan flights closer to Miami fares than actual international Caribbean destinations. Memorial Day sits at the edge of peak Caribbean season, which means prices are trending down rather than up as you approach departure.

You can still find reasonable Memorial Day flights, but you're choosing between your preferred destination and your preferred price. Pick one. Travelers who stay flexible about where they end up tend to save 30 to 50% compared to travelers who picked their beach in February and refused to pivot.

If you absolutely need a specific destination that's gotten expensive, check the drive alternative. Memorial Day is close enough to summer driving season that the math sometimes works out in favor of road-tripping, especially when rental car premiums and baggage fees factor in.