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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is getting ready to break a record. The government agency is projected to screen 18.3 million people between November 26th and December 2nd. This represents a 6% increase over Thanksgiving 2023.
The TSA projects that the three busiest travel days will be Tuesday, November 26th and Wednesday, November 27th as well as Sunday, November 30th. More than 2.8 million people are expected on November 26th, 2.9 million on November 27th, and more than three million people will be screened on December 1st.
Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, said:
This holiday season is expected to be one of the busiest travel periods on record, and the vigilant people of the Transportation Security Administration stand ready to ensure the security and ease of travel. Many members of the TSA workforce will be on duty throughout Thanksgiving Day and week and I am immensely grateful for their selfless dedication and professionalism. I encourage travelers to plan ahead, follow TSA’s travel tips, and take advantage of programs like TSA PreCheck® – simple steps that will make everyone’s journey smoother, our skies safer, and TSA’s job easier.”
TSA Administrator, David Pekoske, added:
As we approach Thanksgiving, TSA is ready to accommodate record passenger volumes. The 10 busiest travel days in TSA’s history have all occurred in 2024, and we anticipate that trend to continue. Working alongside our airport and airline partners and the FAA, we have optimized staffing and will do our best to maintain our wait time standards: less than 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck lanes and less than 30 minutes for standard screening lanes. I am extremely grateful for our dedicated employees across the agency who continue to remain vigilant and focused on the mission to ensure security of our transportation systems and keep the traveling public safe.”
The last time the TSA broke a record was on July 7th, when officers screened more than three million people at airport security checkpoints nationwide. Airlines are also bracing for the travel surge. American Airlines expects to fly 8.3 million passengers across more than 77,000 flights over the Thanksgiving holiday.
David Seymour, American’s Chief Operating Officer, said:
Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals. When you purchase a ticket on American, you’re trusting us to provide a safe and reliable journey. We are ready to continue delivering on that promise this Thanksgiving.”
Anthony’s Take: I’ll be traveling on Tuesday to visit family for Thanksgiving and then off to Aruba after that. I plan to arrive early, use TSA PreCheck®, and be patient as this time of year brings out tons of infrequent flyers.
(Image Credits: TSA.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
