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More than a million Americans traveled by plane the day before Thanksgiving – the highest number since the COVID-19 pandemic explosion in March, according to new statistics.
Figures released by the Transportation Security Administration show 1,070,967 travelers passed through U.S. checkpoints on Wednesday, up from 2,624,250 in 2019.
The one-day total is the highest recorded by the TSA since March 16, but it is still a decrease of 59% from last year.
Public health experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have urged people to abandon their day trip plans to Turkey due to rising infection rates across the country.
The TSA also screened more than a million passengers on Sunday and Friday. Before that, the last time the agency eclipsed that mark was on Oct. 18, when 1,031,505 passed through airports, statistics show.
In total, nearly 6 million passengers were screened at airports from Friday to Wednesday, according to TSA data.
A forecast from AAA and HIS Markit predicted earlier this month that Thanksgiving travel would be “lighter,” with 50 million Americans expected to hit the roads and get on planes – at least a drop of 10 % overall, marking the largest year-long decline since 2008.
However, 95% of these trips were to be made by car, according to forecasts.
Fifty-five million Americans traveled by plane or car last year, according to AAA figures.
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