The Transportation Security Administration reports Sunday, Dec. 1, was the busiest flying day ever in the United States. The record-breaker occurred as Americans tried to get home from the long Thanksgiving holiday week.
TSA agents screened 3.09 million flyers on Sunday, breaking the previous record set earlier this year. 3.01 million Americans flew on July 7, the Sunday after the Fourth of July.
Before that, 2.95 million people flew on May 24, the Friday before Memorial Day, when many people celebrate the unofficial start of summer.
Officials said air travel was relatively smooth compared to past years.
FlightAware reports airlines canceled less than 1% of all flights over the long holiday week. 83% were on time. The biggest difficulty on Sunday was lake effect snow in the east. FlightAware says 120 flights were canceled.
In addition, an air traffic controller shortage throughout the holiday week was a bit of a travel nuisance, especially at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. The FAA had to slow some departures, resulting in flight delays.
Overall, the TSA reports 12.6 million travelers flew this week between the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Sunday, Dec. 1. That topped last year’s total of 12 million.
