Record heat strains airport workers on one of the busiest travel days

Record heat pushed airport ramp crews onto the front line of a summer surge already straining the system, as more than 3 million travelers were expected to move through TSA checkpoints on one of the year’s busiest travel days. Kris Van Cleave was at airports as workers tried to keep tarmac crews from being overcome by temperatures that rise fast around hot pavement, aircraft engines and heavy gear.

The pressure falls on the people who load bags, guide planes and service aircraft in direct sun, often while wearing protective gear and racing to keep flights on schedule. Employers should create plans to protect workers from heat-related illness, and the OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool uses real-time heat index readings and hourly forecasts to help plan outdoor work. Occupational heat stress can come from environmental heat, metabolic heat and PPE, a combination that is common on airport ramps.

In July 2025, Southwest Airlines ground crews in Phoenix were handling about 200 flights a day in triple-digit temperatures. In other hubs, airport service workers have publicly demanded safer conditions and stronger heat protection. At LaGuardia Airport, workers organized around that demand; at Newark Airport, workers have alleged dangerous heat conditions on the tarmac and in warehouses.

When tarmac crews slow down, get sick or are forced off shift by heat, delays ripple through departure boards and connections for thousands of passengers. A 2025 report linked the record-setting Fourth of July travel surge to summer demand and lower gas and airfare prices, adding more traffic to an already fragile operation.