It now seems that air travel over the holiday season will fall by 2.5 percent when compared to last year. The Air Transport Association of America said that it expects 41 million passengers to fly on United States airlines over a 21 day period from December 17th to January 6th. The busiest travel days are expected to be Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday after Christmas on December 26th through the 28th.

The president of the Air Transport Association, James C. May, said the lighter traffic over the holidays would continue a trend that has been seen throughout 2009. This is all due to the weak economy taking a toll on travel demand.

However, the group did note that the planes are still going to be full. Due to low travel demand, many airlines have cut flights, meaning planes that are flying will be packed. Airlines have already been losing money this year as traffic has declined during this economic slowdown. Airlines have raised fees and tacked on surcharges to flights to try and make up the difference.

Over the past week, officials with the nation’s three largest airlines, which would be United, American and Delta, said that they are seeing some improvement in demand. Delta said it’s selling more corporate tickets, and American Airlines said that demand is improving for leisure and premium travel. It is expected that United is showing signs of recovery as well.

For any holiday travelers, the Air Transport Association of America suggests that people check the status of flights before heading to the airport. Gifts should remain unwrapped, because they will have to be inspected by federal security officials at the airport.