TSA Sees Pre-Pandemic Numbers With 2.5 Million People Screened

The number of people passing through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints across the U.S. returned to pre-Coivd levels on the Friday before July Fourth.

"We are back to pre-pandemic checkpoint volume," TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said on Twitter Saturday. Her comment came after the agency screened 2.49 million people at U.S. airports on Friday, July 1.

The number of people screened is slightly below the 2.7 million forecast by Hopper in June. The travel company anticipates 12.9 million people will fly in the U.S. over the five-day July Fourth holiday weekend, from June 30 to July 4.

Most U.S. flights operated as scheduled, if not a little late, on July 1 with FlightAware reporting just 587 cancellations, or a fraction of the total number of flights. That is better than many feared after airlines cancelled thousands of flights in June leading to finger pointing at themselves, and airport and air traffic control staffing.