About 2.49 million passengers passed through security checkpoints at US airports on Friday, surpassing the previous pandemic record of 2.46 million set earlier in the week, according to data released Saturday by the Transportation Security Administration. The escalating numbers show that leisure travelers are not being deterred from flying by rising fares, the ongoing spread of COVID-19 or concerns about repeated flight delays and cancellations. Friday passenger volume was up 13% from July 1 last year, which fell on the Thursday before July 4. This year’s number of passengers passing through US airports also surpassed the 2.35 million who were screened at security checkpoints on the Friday before July 4, 2019, but that was almost a week before Independence Day. In a more telling indication of how close U.S. air travel is returning to pre-pandemic conditions, an average of 2.33 million passengers passed through security checkpoints at domestic airports during the seven days ending July 1. That was close to the seven-day average of about 2.38 million passengers during the same period in 2019, according to the TSA. But airlines are struggling to meet rising demand amid staff shortages and a host of other issues that have led to repeated waves of exasperating flight delays and cancellations that have turned some holidays into nightmare ordeals. Many airlines, including Delta, Southwest and JetBlue, have responded to the challenge by curtailing their summer routes in an effort to reduce the inconvenience — and backlash — caused by flight delays and cancellations. They use larger planes on average to carry more passengers while trying to hire and train more pilots. The headaches continued on Friday, although not as severe as at other times in recent months. There were more than 6,800 flight delays and another 587 flight cancellations affecting US airports on Friday, according to tracking website FlightAware. The problem continued Saturday, with storms complicating things on the East Coast and parts of the Midwest. By late Saturday, nearly 4,000 flights had been delayed and more than 600 canceled at U.S. airports, according to FlightAware. Apart from flight delays and cancellations, travelers have also had to pay higher prices for tickets due to rising fuel costs and other inflationary factors, as well as navigate the health risks posed by the ongoing COVID-19 infections. 19. The travel bug is also causing highway congestion, even with the national average gas price hovering around $5 a gallon — and above $6 a gallon in California and all the popular tourist attractions. AAA predicts nearly 48 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home on the weekend, down slightly from 2019.
