US sees largest post-Covid holiday weekend with 10 million at airports

Robert Besser
04 Jun 2023, 01:43 GMT+10

A TSA report released this week revealed that over the Memorial Day weekend, holiday air passenger travel in the country exceeded 2019 pre-COVID levels
The agency said that over the four-day weekend, some 9.8 million passengers were screened or passed though security checks, some 300,000 more than over the same holiday period in 2019
The FAA said just 0.6 percent of holiday travel period flights were canceled, versus 2.3 percent in 2022 and 1.4 percent in 2019

WASHINGTON D.C.: A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) report released this week revealed that over the Memorial Day weekend, the start of the busy US summer air travel season, holiday air passenger travel in the country exceeded 2019 pre-COVID levels.

The agency said that over the four-day weekend, some 9.8 million passengers were screened or passed though security checks, some 300,000 more than over the same holiday period in 2019.

During the Memorial Day period, Federal Aviation Administration, airlines and flight tracking websites reported few travel issues and significant improvements over 2022.

The FAA said just 0.6 percent of holiday travel period flights were canceled, versus 2.3 percent in 2022 and 1.4 percent in 2019.

Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted, "Low levels of delays and cancellations over the holiday weekend are evidence that sector-wide collaboration to improve airline reliability is on the right track."

The TSA said it screened 2.74 million passengers on May 26, the highest number in a single day since November 2019, adding that May 26's traffic exceeded the recent high set one day earlier and the entire weekend, which surpassed pre-COVID traffic levels.

May 25 witnessed the highest post-COVID daily traffic in the US with 54,684 flights, the FAA said.

According to Industry group Airlines for America, in the June-August quarter, a record 256.8 million passengers will travel on flights, up 1 percent over the 254.6 million passengers in the same period in 2019.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sydney Sun.

More Information

18 ℃

Mostly Cloudy in Sydney

Business

Section

Toyota aiming for over 600,000 electric vehicles by 2025

TOKYO, Japan: Toyota Motor (7203.T) is ramping up its production of electric vehicles (EVs) under both the Toyota and luxury ...

240,000 Ford EcoSport SUVs being investigated for oil pump failures

WASHINGTON D.C.: After consumer complaints of oil pump failures, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation ...

U.S. stocks make minor gains, Nasdaq Composite climbs 60 points

NEW YORK, New York - With no major news Monday, and nothing on the horizon, U.S. stocks remained little moved, ...

US Federal Reserve cutting 300 people from payroll

WASHINGTON D.C.: In a small but rare reduction to its headcount, which has grown steadily since 2010, the US Federal ...

Rite Aid may close over 400 stores, allow creditors to run operations

CAMP HILL, Pennsylvania: This week, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Rite Aid could shut down some 400 to ...

US Transportation Secretary says New York's ATC needs more staff

WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has criticized the air traffic control staffing shortages in New York as "unacceptable" ...