US: Air travel has its busiest days in months heading into Memorial Day weekend

Americans took a small and cautious step to return to the skies this weekend, the start of the traditional summer travel season. The TSA reported Saturday that it screened more passengers at US airports on Thursday and Friday than at any time in the last two months. It's only a modest improvement, but crucial for the turnaround chances for the battered US travel industry. The number of travellers passing through airport screening hit 318,449 Thursday and 348,673 Friday, compared to more than 2.6m passengers on each of the same days a year ago. It was first time since March 23 that the TSA screened more than 300,000 people, and the first time since March 25 that the percentage of those screenings exceeded 10% of year-earlier figures. The lowest point occurred April 14 when fewer than 88,000 passing through screening, only 4% of the year-earlier level. Even with the modest gains of recent days, the percentage of people screened since the start of April amounts to only 6% of those screened a year ago. The nation's airlines reported more than $2 billion in losses in Q1, and forecasts for the current period are projected to be far worse. Still, with all states allowing at least some businesses to reopen in recent weeks, there are signs that Americans are making plans to travel again. Delta, United and Southwest airlines reported this week that they have seen signs of improvements in bookings, and all have started to bring some flights back to their July schedules, compared to the deep cuts of 80% to 90% in May and June. For the first time in 20 years, AAA did not issue a Memorial Day travel forecast, saying it could not trust the accuracy of the economic data it uses because of the coronavirus crisis. But AAA said its own online bookings have been rising since April, albeit modestly, suggesting travellers' confidence may be improving.<br/>