US screened 500m fewer airport passengers in 2020

The US government screened 500m fewer people at US airport checkpoints in 2020, down 61% over 2019, as air travel slowed sharply during the coronavirus pandemic, the TSA said Monday. The TSA said it screened 324m passengers throughout its airport security checkpoints in 2020, down from 824m passengers screened in 2019. In recent weeks, travel has rebounded slightly. On Sunday, TSA screened 1.327m people at airport checkpoints, the most since mid-March, but still down 45% from the same day in 2020. TSA said it anticipates “daily travel volumes will continue to rise steadily and follow seasonal patterns. However, the agency expects volume will remain well below pre-pandemic levels through most of 2021.” Airlines for America, an industry trade group, said US airline passenger volumes were down 57% over 2019 levels in mid-December, with domestic travel down 56% and international air travel down 66%.<br/>