TSA screened nearly 3 million passengers at US airports on Friday – busiest day on record

NEW YORK — Nearly 3 million airline travelers passed through security checkpoints at airports across the United States on Friday, setting a new record for the highest number of passengers screened in a single day, the Transportation Security Administration said.

The history-making day, part of Memorial Day weekend travel plans, surpassed by nearly 50,000 people the number of individuals who passed through security on the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year, when the TSA reported just over 2.9 million travelers.

The third busiest travel day in the nation was also recorded this week, with just under 2.9 million people passing through airport security on Thursday.

Earlier this week, the federal security director for John F. Kennedy International, one of the nation’s busiest airports, said TSA officers were expecting to screen approximately 12,000 more travelers per day for Memorial Day weekend — or an 11.5% increase when compared to last year.

At LaGuardia Airport, officials said they were expecting 10% more travelers to pass through security this holiday weekend when compared to an average weekend.

TSA officials for both airports said the agency is prepared to handle the dramatic increase in the number of travelers.

The American Automobile Association also projected a historic number of people expected to travel at least 50 miles, by road, air, or other means, over Memorial Day Weekend: 43.8 million travelers.

That’s a 4% increase over last year and nearly matches 2005′s record of 44 million travelers.