US screens record 2.95 million airline passengers in single day

US airlines forecast record summer travel with airlines expected to transport 271 million passengers

By Reuters

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Travellers make their way through Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. — Photo: AFP

Published: Sat 25 May 2024, 6:22 PM

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

The record travel coincides with the Memorial Day weekend that marks the beginning of the US summer travel season. Last week, a group representing major US airlines forecast record summer travel with airlines expected to transport 271 million passengers, up 6.3 per cent from last year.

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

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Airlines for America said US carriers plan to fly more than 26,000 daily flights this summer, up nearly 1,400 over 2023, or 5.6 per cent, when they carried 255 million passengers. The summer travel season forecast is for June 1 to August 31.

American Airlines said it will boost flights by 10 per cent this summer and expects 10 per cent higher passengers over the May 23-May 28 Memorial Day travel period — nearly 3.9 million passengers on 36,000 flights.

United Airlines is forecasting it will handle 3 million travellers during the Memorial Day travel period, up nearly 10 per cent and its highest number ever during the period.

Delta Air Lines said it expects a 5 per cent jump in Memorial Day weekend customers to nearly 3 million customers from May 23-27.

The forecast comes as the Federal Aviation Administration is struggling to address a persistent shortage of air traffic controllers. Some airlines voluntarily trimmed New York flights last summer to address congestion issues and have raised new concerns about the lack of controllers.

Airlines can lose their takeoff and landing slots at congested airports if they do not use them enough.

The FAA extended cuts to these minimum flight requirements at New York City-area airports through October because of staffing issues, and major airlines last month asked for those cuts to be extended through October 2025.