TSA Screens Lowest Number of Travelers Since May

Is it the new surge of COVID-19 or the traditional end of summer swoon?

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) last week reported its lowest number of air travelers since May, particularly on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 24 and 25.

On those days, 1,468,219 and 1,539,707 passengers, respectively, were screened across U.S. airports. That’s down from 2,015,088 on Aug. 24, 2019 and 2,188,688 on Aug. 25, 2019.

There has been a decrease in travel over the last three weeks or so due to the public’s concern over the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus. According to CBS News, a new survey from Cars.com found “rising concerns” have forced a fifth of those planning to fly to cancel their tickets and drive instead.

“There’s a lot more anxiety with airlines, with hotels, with cruise lines and all members of the travel industry right now compared to just a couple of months ago,” said travel analyst Henry Harteveldt.

But are those numbers off because of the surge of the virus, or is it because summer travel generally decreases as we get closer to Labor Day, with half the country already back in school and the other half just about to pack up their backpacks?

Generally speaking, airline travel has climbed back to about 70 percent of what it was in 2019 after being just about decimated through 2020 because of the virus.

In view of that, the 1,468,219 traveling on Aug. 24 of this year was almost 73 percent of the capacity it was on the same day two years ago, and the 1,539,707 passengers that flew on Aug. 25 was 70 percent of what it was in 2019.

The biggest passenger day of this summer, Aug. 1, saw 2,238,162 travelers take to the air, or 83 percent of what it was on the same day in 2019.

Then again, 1,900,658 went through TSA checkpoints on Monday, Aug.29, more than the 1,887,845 who flew on the same day in 2019.