by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:20 AM ET, Wed May 1, 2019
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced Tuesday the agency set a new screening record during the 2019 spring travel period.
According to the official TSA website, security officers screened more than 108 million passengers and crew between March 14 and April 28, in addition to examining over 63 million checked bags nationwide.
The numbers indicate a 4.7 percent increase over the same period last year.
"During the 2019 spring break travel period, the dedication and professionalism of our TSA officers and the commitment of our security partners were on full display," TSA deputy administrator Patricia Cogswell said in a statement. "The fact that we continue to break records is a testament to the strength of the aviation industry and our continued and collaborative pursuit of improving security and the overall travel experience."
TSA officials also revealed that despite the total number of individuals screened being higher, 97.2 percent of all passengers waited less than 20 minutes at checkpoints and 92.4 percent in a TSA PreCheck lane waited less than five minutes.
On an average travel day, TSA screens around 2.2 million passengers and crew per day. On the busiest days during the spring travel period, security officers can screen 400,000 more passengers than usual.
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