By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened 2.49 million air passengers on Sunday, the highest daily number since February 2020.
The number was, however, below the 2.61 million screened on the same day in 2019. The Sunday checkpoint traffic was the highest since Feb. 11, 2020, when TSA screened nearly 2.51 million passengers and comes as airlines reported business and leisure travel is increasing. The figure is just above the number screened on July 1.
Some U.S. leisure travelers - who faced few seats and high summer prices - opted to delay trips to the fall.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Chief Executive Ed Bastian said last week on an earnings call that demand remains very strong for air travel.
"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."
Airlines for America, an industry trade group, said as of early October the number of flights flown by major carriers remains down about 15%, while the number of passengers is down 6-7% over pre-pandemic levels.