TSA reports highest airport volume since February 2020

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported its highest airport volume since February 2020 as the nation gears up for what is expected to be a challenging weekend of holiday travel.

“BREAKING NEWS: @TSA officers screened 2,490,490 people at airport security checkpoints nationwide yesterday, Friday, July 1. It was the highest checkpoint volume since Feb. 11, 2020, when 2,507,588 people were screened. We are back to pre-pandemic checkpoint volume,” Lisa Farbstein, a spokeswoman for the TSA, tweeted.

Data from the flight tracking website FlightAware shows that, by noon Saturday, more than 550 flights within, into or out of the United States had been canceled while more than 2,200 have been delayed.

By Wednesday, 1,800 flights had already been canceled for the week at that point. 

The cancellations and delays come as the airline industry tries to keep pace with renewed travel demand following earlier, restrictive stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and after a number of pilots retired or were furloughed. 

Both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and airline groups have engaged in finger-pointing over who is to blame for the struggle to keep abreast of consumer demand, with the FAA claiming that airlines were given coronavirus relief during the pandemic that should have gone toward staffing.

Meanwhile, airlines have alleged that the COVID-19 relief they received still was not enough to avoid staff reductions and claim that the FAA did not come up with a game plan for the upcoming holiday travel. 

During Memorial Day weekend, thousands of flights were also delayed or canceled.