Busy Labor Day weekend travel period gets underway Thursday at O'Hare, Midway airports

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Holiday travel is on for the Labor Day weekend.

Beginning Thursday through next Tuesday it's estimated nearly 1.6 million travelers will come though O'Hare and Midway. That's a 7% passenger increase at O'Hare and a 1% increase at Midway.

The busiest day to travel will also be on Labor Day Monday.

This holiday travel season will be a test for airlines that have seen canceled flights and stranded travelers during the prime summer vacation season. This is the third busiest holiday travel weekend of the year.

Nationwide, TSA expects to screen more than 14 million passengers from Friday through Wednesday, which is an 11% increase over last year.

It's not just in the air. AAA says hotels, rental cars, cruises are also 4% higher than Labor Day last year.

Gas prices have not changed much. The national average is about $3.83 a gallon.