3 million passengers screened on a single day during the 4th of July weekend

3 million passengers passed through US airport security on Sunday 7th July, making it the highest number of passengers ever screened on a single day, according to the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA).  

The TSA said that it had checked 35 passengers every second on the day. The figures surpassed the previous high mark of 2.99 million passengers on June 23rd.  

This year has been an incredibly busy year for US airports, with eight out of the ten busiest days in the TSA’s history coming this year, according to Reuters.  

Airlines for America, a group representing airlines, forecasted summer travel to hit 271 million passengers, up by 6.3% from last year’s figures. 

The 4th of July weekend is a key date in the calendar for US aviation. Our ALPS Aviation modelling had estimated 485,656 scheduled flights taking place across US airports before and after the weekend. 

Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Denver and Charlotte were the busiest airports in this period, according to ALPS Aviation. 

Despite the high demand for air travel, the FAA is struggling to address a persistent shortage of air traffic controllers, with the New York airports of JFK, La Guardia and Network being a concern. 

The number of air traffic controllers handling traffic at these airports is, in the view of the FAA, insufficient to deal with the normal traffic levels expected at these airports.  

In response, the FAA last month extended cuts to minimum flight requirements at these airports through to October 2025, Reuters reported.