A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employee wears a protective mask and stands behind a protective barrier while screening a traveler at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, USA, on Tuesday, June 9, 2020.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty images
TSA agents screened 1,357,111 people at airports on Friday, which represents the highest number of passengers in one day since March 15, 2020.
The milestone reflects that air travel is starting to pick up again after a challenging year for airlines due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Air travel in the United States hit a low on April 14, 2020, with only 87,500 passengers passing through TSA checkpoints. According to the TSA, the number of journeys in 2020 is down more than 60% from the previous year to 324 million passengers. The TSA screens passengers at 440 US airports.
The reduction in travel has hit airlines hard. US airlines lost more than $ 35 billion last year due to low passenger traffic. Airlines were forced to cancel flights, close seats and implement security measures in response to the pandemic.
Airlines are hoping for a revival of the journey in the coming months, with new Covid-19 cases falling across much of the country and more people getting vaccinated. Thirteen percent of American adults were fully vaccinated on Friday.
Passengers on Friday were still 20% lower than the number of passengers on the same day last year, and almost 38% lower than in 2019.