TSA breaks record: it screened 2.95 million airline passengers in a single day

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it screened 2.95 million airline passengers on Friday, the highest number ever recorded in a single day.

Record airline travelers coincide with Memorial Day weekend, which marks the beginning of the summer travel season in the United States.

Last week, a group representing major US airlines predicted record summer travel and airlines are expected to carry 271 million passengers, 6.3% more than last year.

The TSA said Friday’s trip broke a record set in November of nearly 2.91 million air passengers screened. Five of the 10 busiest travel days in history have occurred since May 16, the agency said.

Airlines for America, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association that represents major North American airlines, said on X, formerly Twitter, that US airlines plan to fly more than 26,000 daily flights this summer, almost 1,400 more than in 2023, or 5.6% more than in the previous year, when they transported 255 million passengers. The summer travel season forecast is June 1 to August 31.

American Airlines said it will increase flights by 10% this summer and expects 10% more passengers during the Memorial Day travel period of May 23-28: nearly 3.9 million passengers on 36,000 flights.

United Airlines predicted that it will serve 3 million travelers during the Memorial Day travel period, up nearly 10% and its highest figure during the period.

Delta Air Lines said it expects a 5% increase in weekend customers Memorial Day, almost 3 million customers between May 23 and 27.

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