Nearly 2 million people passed through airport security checkpoints on Memorial Day, the Transportation Security Administration announced -- a huge jump over the number of air travelers one year ago, but still shy of pre-pandemic totals.
The TSA reported that it had screened 1,900,170 people on Monday, compared to 353,261 on Memorial Day 2020. Officials said they had screened nearly 2.5 million on Memorial Day 2019.
The surge in air travel came as many people celebrated their first maskless holiday since the pandemic began, according to The Washington Post. Passengers on planes were still required to wear masks.
Here are the figures for the airport security checkpoints for the rest of the holiday travel.
- 1.6 million were screened at airports on Sunday compared to 352,947 people the previous year on the Friday before Memorial Day.
- 1.6 million were screened at airports on Saturday, compared to 268,867 on the Saturday before Memorial Day in 2020.
- 1.9 million were screened on Friday, compared to 327,133 people the previous year.
Overall, more than 37 million Americans had been expected to travel 50 miles or more over the holiday weekend, an increase of 60% compared with the same time as last year
Las Vegas and Orlando were two of the more popular spots during the busy holiday weekend, said Paula Twidale, senior vice president for AAA Travel, in a news release.
Still, she cautioned Americans must all remember to continue taking important safety precautions.
The holiday marked not just the official start of summer but also the first time in the pandemic that large numbers of people nationwide gathered with friends and family in faraway destinations — and without masks, the Post noted.
And Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he was thrilled with Americans traveling again.
"Well, as secretary of transportation, of course, I'm thrilled to see America getting back on the move," he said Sunday on ABC’s "This Week." "We're not back to normal yet, and we're not out of the woods yet as a country with this pandemic. But we're seeing such progress.
“And the real game-changer has been the vaccine, which is why we're continuing, especially in the run-up to July 4, to urge Americans to get that vaccine if you haven't yet and to check on loved ones and others you care about."
And he added: “As people return, of course, we are coming out of the biggest shocks, perhaps the biggest shock that the modern American transportation system has ever seen in terms of demand, schedules, all of these things changing. And so the system is getting back into gear."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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