Wednesday this week before Thanksgiving was the reported as being the busiest travel day since the Pandemic started back in 2020. TSA checkpoints screened 2,311,978 passengers compared to 2,624,250 in 2019.
To put that in perspective, TSA saw 88% of 2019 traffic, which is the most since March 2020, a sign that travel is continuing to pick-up as more travelers return to the sky.
Per CNN Travel,
The Transportation Security Administration says it screened 2.3 million people (2,311,978) at airports across the country on Wednesday, making it the busiest day at security checkpoints since March 2020Wednesday is the seventh consecutive day the TSA screened more than 2 million passengers.“We’ve looked at passenger volume projections, we’ve worked with the carriers and with the airports, and collectively we’re ready for the Thanksgiving holiday,” he said. “Our goal is to make it as safe and secure and as enjoyable for people as we possibly can.”
AAA predicted 53.4 million Americans would travel for the holiday, including millions by air. Pekoske warned travelers to “just be patient” navigating travel, especially because some people have traveled infrequently or not at all since the pandemic began.
With many working from home, the Thanksgiving travel peaks were more spread out this year, however that didn’t stop the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to reach 88% of 2019’s travel levels.
I’d anticipate that the Sunday after Thanksgiving this year will also set a new record with the amount of travelers returning home from the holiday. Based on this year’s Thanksgiving, you can bet on a busy Christmas travel this year.
It’s great to see more travelers returning to the sky, however now it’s time for airlines to step up their inflight service offerings and bring back pre-pandemic offerings such as meals, amenity kits, glassware and more.
Did you travel anywhere this year for Thanksgiving? Feel free to share your comments below.Â
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Awesome Article!