ADVERTISEMENT

Holiday Surge Prompts New High for Pandemic Air Travel in U.S.

Almost 1.2 million people took to the skies in the U.S. on Wednesday.

Holiday Surge Prompts New High for Pandemic Air Travel in U.S.
People wearing protective masks wait to pass through a security screening at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. (Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg)

Almost 1.2 million people took to the skies in the U.S. on Wednesday, the most since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted in March, despite warnings against large gatherings and travel during the holidays.

People have flocked to airports in the past week, according to Transportation Security Administration data. An average of more than 1 million people a day passed through TSA screening over the past week, which is a post-coronavirus record.

The passenger levels remain far below what was typical before the pandemic, when airlines routinely carried more than 2.5 million people a day during busy periods.

Airlines are set to receive a financial lifeline of $15 billion for payrolls in a virus relief package Congress passed this week if President Donald Trump signs it into law. The money will allow carriers to bring back furloughed workers, but Trump has balked at other provisions in the measure.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.