A record was broken before Memorial Day weekendfor the number of air travelers screened at U.S. airports, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced on Saturday.
According to the Transportation Security Administration, more than 2.9 million travelers were screened at U.S. airports on Friday, surpassing the previous record set on the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year.
“Agents set a new record for most travelers screened in a single day!” the TSA tweeted. “We recommend arriving early.”
The third busiest day of all time was recorded on Thursday, when nearly 2.9 million travelers were screened at US airports.
In Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport experienced its busiest day ever. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport broke a traffic record on Thursday when 111,000 passengers, flight attendants and airport employees were screened at security checkpoints. The second busiest day followed on Friday, when 109,960 people were screened, according to the TSA.
With 104.6 million passengers, Atlanta Airport was the busiest in the world last year, according to Airports Council International.
US airlines expect to carry a record number of passengers this summer. Their trade group estimates that 271 million travelers will fly between June 1 and August 31, surpassing the record of 255 million set last summer.
According to AAA, this will be the busiest start to summer weekend in nearly 20 years. Between Thursday and Monday, 43.8 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home – 38 million of them by car.
The annual expression of wanderlust that accompanies the beginning of summer Travel season comes at a time when Americans are telling pollsters they are worried about the economy and the direction of the country.
For a long time, Memorial Day was celebrated every year on May 30th in honor of fallen American soldiers, but since 1971 it has officially been a federal holiday and is always observed on the last Monday in May.
Jason Redman, a retired Navy SEAL who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the Associated Press last year that he was honoring the friends he had lost. He has 30 names tattooed on his arm “for every man I knew personally who died.”