July 4 Air Travel Breaks Records as TSA Says It Screened 3 Million People Sunday

Air travel demand has remained high through the first half of the summer, as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said more than 3 million people passed through TSA checkpoints on Sunday at the end of the Independence Day holiday weekend.

That figure, crossing the 3 million threshold for the first time this year, was up from about 2.6 million people screened by TSA agents at airports across the country on July 7 last year.

Travel Demand Remains High Ahead of Airline Earnings

Americans have been willing to travel at record levels following the pandemic. Roughly 71 million people were expected to travel by air, auto, or other means the week of Independence Day, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which said that the number of expected travelers was up 5% from last year, and 8% from 2019.

A survey from American Express (AXP) earlier this year indicated that 84% of respondents said they expected to spend more or the same amount on travel this year as last.

Strong demand for travel boosted the earnings of major airlines in the first quarter, and could continue to do so when air travel giants like Delta (DAL), United (UAL), American Airlines (AAL), and Southwest (LUV) report results later this month. Travel around Memorial Day also broke records earlier this year.

An international trade group for the industry last month raised its profit projections for the global commercial air travel industry to $30.5 billion from $25.7 billion.