The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced it screened at least 1.5 million travelers at airports across the United States on three of the last four days.
According to the TSA’s official website, the U.S. agency recorded 1,562,239 people passing through security checkpoints on Thursday, April 1—another key date in the traditionally busy spring travel period—up from the just 124,021 screened during the same day in 2020.
JUST IN: @TSA screened 1,397,958 people at airport checkpoints nationwide yesterday, Saturday, April 3. For perspective, one year ago, TSA screened 118,302 people. So we’re seeing something like an 800 percent increase from last year’s checkpoint throughput. Wear that mask!
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) April 4, 2021
JUST IN: @TSA screened 1,543,474 people nationwide yesterday, Sunday, April 4. On the same day in 2020, TSA screened 122,029 and in 2019, TSA screened 2,462,929 people. Volume is up significantly from 2020, but there’s still a long way to go to return to pre-pandemic levels.
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) April 5, 2021
TSA officials also screened 1,580,785 travelers on Friday, 1,397,958 on Saturday and 1,543,474 on Sunday. While volume continues to rise compared to 2020, there is still a long way to go before passenger totals return to pre-pandemic levels.
In 2019, the spring travel period saw an average of over two million screened travelers each day.
The rush of travelers taking to the skies for Easter and Spring Break vacations comes just days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced people who have received an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine could travel safely domestically.
The new CDC ruling said fully vaccinated tourists will no longer be required to get tested before or after travel—unless they are required by the destination—nor will they be forced to follow previous self-quarantine protocols.
For travelers who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine or have not completed the two-shot process, the CDC recommends delaying non-essential travel due to the potential spread of the virus.
