TSA says US travellers broke a record over July 4 holiday

WASHINGTON – The number of people screened at airport checkpoints last Sunday set a record as people streamed home after a four-day holiday weekend.

The Transportation Security Administration said Thursday that its officers screened 2,795,014 passengers and airline crew members, barely beating a record set just five weeks earlier, over the Memorial Day weekend.

TSA screens about 2.2 million people on an average day.

The top four days and eight of the busiest 10 in TSA history have occurred this year, as airlines report booming travel demand.

TSA says that despite Sunday’s record crowds, fewer than 1% of passengers waited 30 minutes or more in checkpoint lines. The agency is telling summer travellers to arrive at the airport two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international one.