More than three million people passed through United States airport security on Sunday, marking the first time that number of passengers have been screened in a single day, according to the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
This milestone, anticipated over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, surpassed the June 23 record of over 2.99 million screened passengers.
Notably, eight of the 10 busiest days in TSA’s history have occurred this year as travel numbers exceed pre-COVID-19 levels.
The TSA, established after the September 11, 2001, attacks, replaced private security companies previously hired by airlines. Operating under the Department of Homeland Security, TSA agents on Sunday checked 35 passengers every second.
Despite ongoing inflation, travel costs, including airline tickets and hotel prices, have significantly decreased from a year ago. Government inflation data shows that hotel room prices in May were 1.2 percent lower compared to the previous year, continuing a downward trend since the beginning of the year.
While most US airlines experienced losses in the first quarter, typically the slowest period for travel, they anticipated a busy summer season. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines expected solid second-quarter profits, joining Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in their optimistic outlook for the April-to-June period, the start of peak travel season.
Delta is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Thursday, with analysts forecasting sales of $15.5 billion, nearly $1 billion more than the same period last year.
United and American will release their quarterly results next week, with Wall Street predicting higher revenue compared to the previous year for both airlines.
The surge in air travel since the pandemic has also led to an increase in complaints. The US Department of Transportation reported receiving nearly 97,000 complaints in 2023, up from about 86,000 the previous year. This marks the highest number of complaints since 2020, when airlines were slow to issue refunds after the pandemic halted travel.
