Sunday Breaks Another Record For Air Travel During COVID-19

Travellers wear facemasks at Miami International Airport on December 24, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

More Americans used air travel on Sunday than at any point since mid-March, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.

That broke the post-COVID-19 record that had previously been set… four days earlier, with the start of a wave of Christmas-related travel. 

More than 1.28 million travelers passed through TSA checkpoints Sunday, according to the TSA, up from the pre-Christmas COVID-19 record of more than 1.19 million the Wednesday prior. 

Sunday’s traveler throughput was roughly half of that on the same Sunday last year, the TSA said. Wednesday’s high was more than 60 percent of the throughput a year ago. 

Since mid-March, TSA has recorded 11 days in which more than 1 million people used air travel. Six of those days were in the second half of December. 

The record numbers come despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urging Americans not to travel for the holidays, an effort to stem the spread of the viral disease.

The United States has seen a surge in cases over the past three months. In all, the country has recorded more than 330,000 COVID-19 deaths 

Latest News
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: