The Transportation Security Administration screened more passengers at U.S. airports last Friday than any other day in the agency’s history, it said Thursday.
TSA checked 2,792,525 passengers and crew members May 24, the last weekday before the long Memorial Day weekend. On an average day, officers see 2.2 million people pass through checkpoints.
The previous one-day record was the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year, when 2.73 million people boarded flights across the 440 federalized airports officers are stationed.
The agency’s busiest days in its 17-year history have typically been during the summer travel months and holiday season. It expects 12 million more people to board flights this summer than last summer.
Between Memorial Day and Labor Day last year, officers screened 251 million passengers. That number is expected to jump to 263 million in 2019.
TSA said despite the surge in passengers, more than 96% of people waited less than 20 minutes to get through security. For passengers with TSA pre-check, the average wait time was less than five minutes. Security officers are scheduled based on airline information.
Approximately 400 TSA employees have stepped away from their posts in recent weeks to volunteer for border deployments. The relocated TSA personnel are assisting Customs and Border Protection due to the increasing number of people arriving at and illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since the start of the fiscal year in October. TSA is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
[Also read: Airport officials find a ‘farmer’s market’ worth of prohibited produce in international passenger’s luggage]
