More travelers passed through airports this Memorial Day weekend than in the same holiday period before the pandemic, according to Transportation Security Administration figures shared with CNN.
The figures TSA shared total 12.4 million people screened since Thursday. The busiest day was Friday when the agency screened 2.72 million travelers – levels not seen since before Covid.
Historical data for the past five days in 2019 posted to the TSA website show the agency screened 12.2 million people. This year’s figure is about 180,000 passengers higher.
Traveler figures were higher than last year, too, when air travel meltdowns marked the start of a miserable travel summer. Airlines canceled 699 flights, according to data from FlightAware, which is about a quarter of the cancellations over Memorial Day weekend 2022.
Travel planning and automotive organization AAA said in its forecast prior to Memorial Day that holiday travel volume is likely indicative of a very busy summer.
“This summer travel season could be one for the record books, especially at airports,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, in a statement.