2 million folks undergo US airports – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

DALLAS – (AP) – The aviation industry’s recovery from the pandemic passed a milestone when more than 2 million people passed through US airport security checkpoints for the first time since early March 2020 on Friday.

The Transportation Security Administration announced on Saturday that 2.03 million travelers were screened at airport controls on Friday. It was the first time in 15 months that the number of security checkpoints exceeded 2 million in a single day.

Airline bookings have been increasing since around February as more Americans were vaccinated against COVID-19 and – at least within the US – travel restrictions such as mandatory quarantines eased.

The recovery is not complete. The crowds on Friday were only 74% of the volume compared to the same day in 2019. However, according to the TSA, there were 2.03 million more travelers than on the same day last year.

The 2 million mark marks quite a turnaround for the travel industry that has been hammered by the pandemic. There were days in April 2020 when fewer than 100,000 people got on planes in the US, and Boeing’s CEO predicted that at least one major US airline would go bankrupt.

Most airlines are still losing money. Southwest posted a narrow profit in the first quarter thanks to its $ 64 billion stake in federal pandemic aid to the industry, and others are expected to follow suit later this year.

The fear of mass vacations has given way. United Airlines, which lost $ 7 billion last fall and threatened to take 13,000 workers off leave, told its employees this week that their jobs would be safe even if the federal money runs out in October.

That’s because airlines like United are optimistic about saving the main summer holiday season. International travel and business travel are still deeply depressed, but domestic vacation travel is roughly back to pre-pandemic levels, according to airlines.

The airlines are recalling employees from voluntary vacation and plan to hire a small number of pilots and other staff later this year.

Hotel operators say bookings have also improved as vaccination rates rise.

Mike Gathright, senior vice president at Hilton, said the company’s hotels were 93% occupancy over Memorial Day weekend. He said the company was “very optimistic” about vacation travel this summer and an increase in business travel this fall.

“The distribution of vaccines, the easing of travel restrictions, consumer confidence – all of these are driving the utilization and improvement of our business,” said Gathright.

Before the pandemic, the TSA examined an average of 2 million to 2.5 million travelers per day. The lowest volume of screening during the pandemic was on April 13, 2020 when only 87,534 people were screened at the airport security checkpoints.

By the middle of last month, the average daily volume of TSA for screenings was around 65% of pre-pandemic levels.

As the summer travel season approaches, the TSA is advising passengers to arrive at the airport with sufficient time for a longer review period, as travel volumes at certain airports are expected to reach pre-pandemic levels and in some cases exceed levels.

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