The Transportation Security Administration announced that it screened more than 2.95 million air passengers on Friday, setting a new record for a single day.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the agency said on Saturday that it screened 2,951,163 people at airport checkpoints across the country on Friday, surpassing the previous record of 2,907,378 set on Sunday after Thanksgiving last year.
“If you flew yesterday, congratulations, you were part of a record-breaking day!” TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said in a separate post.
Mike Stewart / AP
Ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, the TSA predicted Friday would be the busiest day for air travel, with nearly 3 million people expected to pass through airport checkpoints .
The TSA screened just under 2.9 million people Thursday, about 11,000 from the previous record. Five of the 10 busiest travel days have been since May 16, the agency said.
The Memorial Day weekend trip is also expected break records on the roads.
The American Automobile Association, or AAA, warned of potentially unprecedented congestion on the roads this weekend, along with airports that could be even more crowded than in past years. The organization, which looks various economic factors and partners with other groups to project travel conditions, announced earlier this month that an estimated 43.8 million people in the United States would travel at least 50 miles Thursday through Monday. That would mark a 4 percent increase in overall travel compared to 2023, according to AAA.
“We haven't seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in nearly 20 years,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA's travel division, said in a statement. “We're projecting an extra million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we're beating pre-pandemic levels, but also points to a very busy summer travel season.” .
Emily Mae Czachor also contributed to this report.
