U.S. travelers set a new pandemic record on Sunday as over 1.6 million passengers passed through the nation’s airports for the first time since air travel demand plummeted in March 2020 according to data provided by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The TSA said it screened 1,626,962 passengers at its airport security checkpoints on May 2, although that figure is still down over 35 per cent compared to the number of passengers the agency screened on the same day in 2019.
Passenger numbers hit rock bottom on April 14, 2020, when just 87,534 passengers were screened at TSA security checkpoints. Airlines are now gearing up for a busy summer season as a mass vaccination drive reaches more and more people.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that fully vaccinated adults can now safely travel within the United States, reversing a previous ‘avoid travel’ order that an increasing number of people were simply ignoring.
On Friday, the TSA extended a federal face mask mandate through September 13 following and order from the Biden administration not to let it lapse later this month as had originally been planned.
Anti-maskers face a $250 civil penalty if caught not wearing a mask in airports, on planes and across other public transport. The penalty can be increased to a maximum of $1,500 for repeat offenders.
Photo Credit: Denver International Airport
