by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:45 PM ET, Mon October 17, 2022
The United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that it screened 2,494,757 airline passengers on Sunday, the highest daily total since February 2020.
According to Reuters.com, Sunday's total number of screened passengers was the highest since February 11, 2020, when TSA officers screened nearly 2.51 million travelers. The October 16 number was down from the 2.61 million screened on the same day in 2019.
The previous post-pandemic high was 2,490,490 passengers screened on July 1.
Aviation officials believe the rise in airline traffic in the fall comes as a result of the high prices and limited seating this summer limiting demand. As Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said last week, demand for air travel "remains very strong."
"After two years of delaying travel, it is clear that consumers are getting out and traveling the world," Bastian said. "Business travel continues to recover in line with our expectations as bookings have improved after Labor Day and companies reconnect with their teams and their customers."
As for the cost of flights, data from the U.S. government showed that airfares rose over 40 percent in September compared to the same month in 2021, the fastest rate on record. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed that airfares climbed due in part to airlines cutting down on flight schedules and rising fuel costs.
Data also shows that ticket prices could reach record highs during the Thanksgiving and winter holiday travel periods.
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