More than 3 million pass through US airport security in a day for the first time as travel surges
Agents for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration on Sunday screened 3 million airline passengers in a single day for the first time ever
More than 3 million people passed through U.S. airport security on Sunday, the first time that number of passengers have been screened in a single day as travel surges, according to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.
The record, which was widely predicted to happen at some point over the July Four holiday weekend, topped the June 23 mark of more than 2.99 million screened passengers. Eight of the 10 busiest days in TSA’s history have come this year as the number of travelers tops pre-pandemic levels.
TSA was created after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and replaced a collection of private security companies that were hired by airlines. The agency operates under the Department of Homeland Security, which said that agents on Sunday checked 35 passengers every second.
While Americans continue to grapple with inflation, travel costs including airline tickets and hotel prices have eased significantly from a year ago. Hotel rooms were 1.2% cheaper in May compared with a year ago, according to recent government inflation data. Those costs have been trending lower since the beginning of the year.
