WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it screened 2.95 million airline passengers on Friday, the highest number ever on a single day.
Record travel coincides with the Memorial Day weekend, marking the start of the US summer travel season. Major US airlines predict record summer travel, expecting to transport 271 million passengers, up 6.3% from last year.
Friday’s travel broke a record set in November, with nearly 2.91 million air passengers screened, according to the TSA. The agency reported that five of the 10 busiest travel days have occurred since May 16.
U.S. carriers plan over 26,000 daily flights this summer, up nearly 1,400 from 2023. Last year, they carried 255 million passengers.
American Airlines said it will boost flights by 10% this summer expects 10% 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 travelers during the Memorial Day travel period, up nearly 10% and its highest number ever during the period.
Delta Air Lines said it expects a 5% jump in Memorial Day weekend customers to nearly 3 million customers between 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.
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