Friday is expected to be the busiest-ever day of airline travel in U.S. history as a record number of people board flights ahead of the Fourth of July holiday next week.
“TSA anticipates the peak travel day will be Friday, June 28, when the agency expects to screen more than 3 million individuals,” the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement. The agency broke its single-day screening record on Sunday when it processed 2.99 million people.
Overall, the TSA anticipates its officers will interact with more than 32 million people between Thursday, June 27, and Monday, July 8, as travelers take advantage of the holiday next Thursday. Fourth of July holiday travel this year is forecasted to be 5% higher than last year.
Airline travel, both domestically and internationally, has continued to bounce back and hit new highs since the pandemic.
Earlier this year, Congress passed funding that brought TSA officer pay rates up to the same as federal law enforcement officers, though TSA employees are not considered law enforcement.
The boost in pay has helped retain employees, particularly ahead of what promises to be a busy summer for the agency, according to TSA Administrator David Pekoske.
“Compared to last year, we have cut our attrition rates by almost half and increased our recruiting as a result of the TSA compensation plan that was funded in the budget passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden,” Pekoske said. “The traveling public is on the move, which is a sign of a healthy economy. We are ready, along with our airline and airport partners, to handle this boost in passenger volumes.”
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Despite the increase in travelers this weekend, the TSA maintained that passengers should not expect wait times in line to increase.
The public in standard screening lines can expect to be in and out of security in no more than 30 minutes, while passengers with TSA PreCheck status should plan to spend no more than 10 minutes at the security checkpoint.
