Friday's preholiday travel breaks the record for the most airline travellers screened at U.S. airports
CTV
A record was broken ahead of the Memorial Day weekend for the number of airline travellers screened at U.S. airports, the Transportation Security Administration said Saturday.
A record was broken ahead of the Memorial Day weekend for the number of airline travellers screened at U.S. airports, the Transportation Security Administration said Saturday.
More than 2.9 million travellers were screened at U.S. airports on Friday, surpassing a previous record set last year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, according to the transportation security agency.
"Officers have set a new record for most travellers screened in a single day!" the TSA tweeted. "We recommend arriving early."
The third busiest day on record was set on Thursday when just under 2.9 million travellers were screened at U.S. airports.
In Atlanta, the world's busiest airport had its busiest day ever. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport broke a traffic record on Thursday when 111,000 passengers, airlines crew and airport employees were screened at security checkpoints. The second busiest day followed on Friday when 109,960 people were screened, according to the TSA.
With 104.6 million passengers, the Atlanta airport was the busiest in the world last year, according to Airports Council International.
U.S. airlines expect to carry a record number of passengers this summer. Their trade group estimates that 271 million travellers will fly between June 1 and August 31, breaking the record of 255 million set last summer.
