Agents checked 35 passengers per second as trips reached a new record on Sunday, July 7.
More than three million people passed through U.S. airport security on Sunday, the first time that number of passengers have been screened in a single day as travel increases, according to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The record, which was widely predicted to happen sometime during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, surpassed the June 23 mark of more than 2.99 million passengers screened. Eight of the 10 busiest days in TSA history occurred this year, with the number of travelers surpassing levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The TSA was created after the attacks on the US on September 11, 2001 and replaced a set of private security companies hired by airlines. The agency operates under the Department of Homeland Security, which said agents on Sunday checked 35 passengers every second.
Although Americans continue to struggle with inflation, travel costs, including airline tickets and hotel prices, have decreased significantly from the previous year. Hotel rooms were 1.2% cheaper in May compared with a year earlier, according to recent government inflation data. These costs have been on a downward trend since the beginning of the year.
Although most U.S. airlines lost money in the first quarter — traditionally the slowest time of year for travel — they were all hoping for a summer with full planes.
American Airlines and Southwest Airlines said they expect solid second-quarter profits. They joined Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in presenting an optimistic outlook for the April-June period, which includes the start of peak season for carriers.
Delta reports its second-quarter earnings on Thursday, with analysts forecasting sales of $15.5 billion, nearly $1 billion more than the same period a year ago. Next week, United and American will release their quarterly results, with Wall Street forecasting higher year-over-year revenues for both carriers.
Increasingly full planes since the pandemic halted travel four years ago have brought a downside for airlines: complaints.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said last week it had received nearly 97,000 complaints in 2023, up from about 86,000 the year before. The department said there were so many complaints that it took until July to analyze the records and compile the numbers.
This is the highest number of airline complaints since 2020, when airlines were slow to refund customers after the pandemic halted air travel.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
