US screens highest number of air passengers since 2019

The US TSA said Tuesday it had screened 2.785m airline passengers on June 16, the highest number since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The TSA said it had screened approximately 10.6m people from Friday through Monday, the Juneteenth holiday, giving an average of 2.67m people per day. Airlines reported few cancellations over the holiday period and the TSA said last Friday was the fourth-highest single-day for screenings ever and the highest since November 2019. The post-COVID 19 rebound looks set to continue, with industry group Airlines for America estimating a record 256.8m passengers will fly in the June-August quarter, up 1% over the 254.6m passengers in the same period in 2019. Carriers, which have already cut about 10% of scheduled flights this spring to address performance issues, are often operating larger planes as they have trimmed flights to smooth operations, especially in congested New York airspace. Carriers, which had a rough 2022 with high cancellations at various points, have had a much improved 2023 through April, according to the FAA. The FAA agreed in March to requests by Delta and United Airlines to temporarily return up to 10% of slots and flight timings at congested New York area airports John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, Newark and Washington National, citing air traffic controller shortages for flights from May 15 to Sept. 15.<br/>