Everyone loves a long weekend. But this Memorial Day weekend was different from the last few years. The Friday leading up to it marked a new travel record in the post-pandemic era, as more people ventured out despite stubborn inflation and high airfares.
The Transportation Security Administration, which clocks passenger numbers at U.S. airports, screened a total of 2.74 million people on Friday alone—the highest since the 2019 Thanksgiving weekend. And from Friday through Monday, the TSA screened 9.79 million people—up by 300,000 from the same holiday period in 2019. The data points to the strong return of travel activity following years of depressed or slowly recovering demand due to COVID-19-related restrictions.
