(RepublicanDaily.org) – The TSA and its agents are starting to square their shoulders for what they expect to be an extra busy and toxic holiday season.
The government’s transport security agency has already been seeing record numbers of travelers as early as now, and assumes that the worst is yet to come with the approach of the Thanksgiving and Black Friday holidays, as well as the winter breaks for students and Christmas and New Years’ holiday season. The TSA reported that this year has already seen seven of its ten highest volume travel days in the history of the agency so far, with June 30 being the peak date with 2,884,783 passengers recorded.
In a news release posted on its website, the TSA said that for the 12-day time period starting on November 17 and ending on November 28, it estimates that it will screen roughly 30 million passengers. Among these dates, the agency expects the highest volume of passengers on November 21, 22, and 26, which are projected to see 2.6 million, 2.7 million, and 2.9 million passengers respectively.
Travel volumes for 2023 are among the highest the agency has tracked since 2000, marking a 2.3% jump from last year’s numbers, according to TSA data.
“We expect this holiday season to be our busiest ever,” David Pekoske, TSA Administrator, said. He assured the public, however, that the agency is prepared to handle the huge influx of passengers, and said that the TSA is also closely coordinating with airports around the country and its partners in the airline industry to ensure that Americans can travel safely and smoothly during the holidays. Pekoske also said that the agency will do its utmost to maintain the standard of a 10-minute maximum screening time for passengers in TSA Precheck and under 30 minutes of screening for regular passengers.
The agency has recommended that travelers “pack smart” and start with empty bags to ensure that they are not bringing in any prohibited items into airport security, which results in delays for everyone. They are also advising passengers to arrive in the airport at least two hours before their flight and have the required identification documents easily accessible.
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