More than 2.1 million air travelers sets single-day record for COVID pandemic, TSA says

The number of United States air travelers soared to a new record high for the COVID-19 pandemic on Sunday.

A lofty 2,100,761 travelers were screened at U.S. airport checkpoints on Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration announced, which is the first time since March 2020 that so many people have been screened.

In a tweet Monday, Lisa Farbstein of the TSA said Sunday had the” highest checkpoint volume since the start of the pandemic.”

“Continue to #MaskUp,” Farbstein wrote.

Sunday was the fifth day in June that more than 2 million people were screened at U.S. checkpoints, according to TSA data. There hadn’t been a single day before June with 2 million air travelers since March 2020.

Air traveled plummeted at the beginning of the pandemic, with the daily number of people screened at TSA checkpoints frequently dipping below 100,000 travelers in April 2020, and typically remaining below 1 million people through the end of the year.

This week, American Airlines cited “the incredibly quick ramp up of customer demand,” along with “unprecedented weather” and “labor shortages,” for why the company is canceling hundreds of flights through mid-July.