Air travel over Memorial Day in the U.S. crosses pre-pandemic levels

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Air travel over Memorial Day in the U.S. crosses pre-pandemic levels

Air travel over the Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. surged past pre-pandemic levels, according to recent data from the Transportation Security Administration.

On Friday alone, about two million people passed through security checkpoints, up from the previous projection of 2.6 million and the highest post-pandemic single day record, according to the TSA.

The figures aren't completely surprising, as several industry experts warned that demand will continue to surge as people prioritize travel despite the uncertain economy.

AAA forecasted that more than 42 million people would hit the road over the holiday weekend, signaling what s to come in the months ahead. More than 2 million people are currently beingscreened daily, a significant increase from last year.

The National Transportation Security Administration said officers screened more than 191 million passengers in the first quarter of 2023, up 20.4% from the same period a year ago.

Airlines have fixed problems that contributed to a surge in flight cancellations and delays last summer, when 52,000 flights were canceled from June through August.

Since then, airline operations have employed about 30,000 employees, including many pilots, and they are using bigger planes to reduce flights but not the number of seats.