The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is reportedly ready to screen more than 17 million people during what is expected to be the busiest Labor Day travel period on record, which runs from Thursday, August 29 to Wednesday, September 4.
The busiest day is expected to be August 30, when the TSA expects to screen 2.86 million people.
This summer’s air travel volumes are the highest the agency has ever seen. The agency expects passenger volumes to be 8.5% higher than last year during this time, and it has already screened 239.8 million people since Memorial Day weekend, which is an average of 2.7 million per day.
The ten busiest travel days in the agency’s history have all occurred this year since May 2024. The agency reached a new milestone on July 7, when Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) screened more than 3 million people in a single day.
“People are traveling more than ever this summer and TSA, along with our airline and airport partners, are ready to close out the busiest summer travel period on record during the upcoming Labor Day weekend,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.
TSA said it has staff to meet its wait time standards, which are 10 minutes or less in TSA PreCheck lines and 30 minutes or less in standard screening lines.
With this increase in travel volumes, TSA encourages airline passengers to travel with peace of mind by enrolling in the TSA PreCheck Confident Traveler Program, where members do not need to remove shoes, belts, 3-1-1 liquids, laptops, food and light jackets at the checkpoint.
TSA PreCheck members must ensure their Known Traveler Number (KTN) is on their airline reservation so it appears on their boarding pass.
TSA also reminds passengers that REAL ID will go into effect in less than nine months, starting May 7, 2025: “Airline passengers will soon need a REAL ID-compliant form of identification when traveling by air. If a driver’s license is not REAL ID-compliant, they will need to have another acceptable form of identification, such as a U.S. passport.”
REAL ID driver’s licenses and identification cards have a small star in the upper right corner indicating that they meet federal regulations that establish minimum security standards.
See top TSA travel tips here.
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