2.56 million screened at airport checkpoints on Thanksgiving

More than 2.56 million people were screened Sunday at airport checkpoints, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

The highest checkpoint volume since the start of the epidemic was reached Sunday by more than 2.56 million people screened Sunday, according to Lisa Farbstein, TSA spokesperson.

The Thanksgiving season, which ran Friday, Nov. 18, to Sunday, Nov. 27, this year, is typically a very busy time for air travel, with the Tuesday and Wednesday before the holiday and the Sunday after it usually is the three busiest days of the year, according to the TSA.

Before the holiday travel period, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement that the agency expected to be busier this year than last year, and probably very close to pre-pandemic levels. The TSA had anticipated as many as 2.5 million people could be screened on November 23 and possibly more than that the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

In mid-November, AAA had predicted that some 54.6 million people would travel at least 50 miles for Thanksgiving, estimating nearly 49 million via car and about 4.5 million via plane between Nov. 23 and Nov. 27.