TSA Reports Jump in Travelers Screened at US Airports

The travel industry looks to be slowly bouncing back, as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened over one million travelers between Friday and Sunday, the busiest weekend since March.

Between June 5 and June 7, over 1.2 million people passed through airport checkpoints across the United States, the highest total since more than 1.5 million travelers were screened between March 20 and March 22.

TSA officials also revealed June 5 was the first day the agency screened more than 400,000 travelers since March 22, with a total of 419,675 passengers. As states gradually reopen as coronavirus-related travel restrictions are lifted, the agency has reported an uptick in travelers.

While only 697,614 travelers passed through TSA checkpoints around the U.S. between May 15-17, the agency saw the number jump to 869,314 between May 22-24 and again to 948,947 between 29-31.

To help protect employees and travelers, TSA officials instituted health and safety protocols to increase social distancing and decrease physical contact at airport security screening checkpoints.

Earlier this month, the TSA announced it is looking to develop a passenger self-screening system that’s being compared to the self-checkout kiosks common at many grocery stores and ATM machines.

TSA and the Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate are working together to solicit a third party to develop the enhanced system.