Report: TSA Saw Busiest Day of Air Travel Sunday Since Start of Pandemic

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Sunday saw the busiest day of air travel across the United States since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, screening 2,451,300 people at airports across the country, according to the department’s Traveler Throughput numbers.

During the Thanksgiving travel, between November 19 and 28, the TSA saw more nearly 20.9 million passengers going through security at airports across the country, with the five-day holiday weekend travel from Wednesday to Sunday screening nearly 10.1 million, according to the agency’s records indicated.

The agency said the ten-day holiday travel was about 89 percent of the pre-pandemic levels. The Thanksgiving holiday period beat the agency’s predicted number of 20 million air travelers during the period. “Typically, the busiest days during the Thanksgiving travel period are the Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving and the Sunday afterward,” a press release said.

“We anticipate that travel may be very close to pre-pandemic levels this holiday, and we are staffed and prepared for the holiday travelers,” TSA administrator David Pekoske said. “We have deployed technologies that enhance detection capabilities and reduce physical contact, and it’s equally important that passengers are prepared with travel tips for the most efficient checkpoint experience.”

The busiest air travel day in the history of the TSA was the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2019 when the agency screened nearly 2.9 million people. The agency’s press release noted that this year’s travel volume is not projected to reach pre-pandemic levels but would be higher in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

“With overall vaccination rates improving nationwide and greater confidence in healthy travel, there will be more people traveling so plan ahead, remain vigilant and practice kindness,” Pekoske added.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.