Nov 25, 2021 - Economy

Thanksgiving air travel doubles 2020 level

Axios

Travelers wait in a long queue at the security checkpoint of Orlando International Airport on Nov. 24. Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The Transportation Security Administration said it screened more than 2.3 million airline passengers on Wednesday — the highest number since the start of the pandemic and more than double the number of people who passed through TSA security checkpoints on the same day last year.

Driving the news: TSA said last week it expects to screen about 20 million air passengers during the Thanksgiving travel period this year.

People traveling for Thanksgiving this year — by car, bus, train or plane — could reach 53 million, according to AAA — 95% of 2019's total, Hope King writes.

By the numbers: Wednesday saw more than twice as many air travelers than the day before Thanksgiving last year when nearly 1.1 million airline passengers passed through TSA checkpoints.

TSA screened more than 2.6 million airline passengers on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 2019.
The busiest air travel day in TSA history was on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2019, when nearly 2.9 million people were screened.

📷 In photos: Thanksgiving travel nears pre-pandemic levels

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Thanksgiving air travel doubles 2020 level

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