World

US airport passengers hit highest level since March 2020

  • COVID-19 has devastated air travel demand, with US airline passenger demand down 60% in 2020 and down 63% in January.
  • But with a growing number of Americans getting vaccinated, demand and advanced bookings have started to rise in recent weeks. Friday's numbers were still down 38% over pre-COVID-19 levels.
Published March 13, 2021 Updated March 13, 2021 09:09pm
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WASHINGTON: The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 1.357 million US airport passengers on Friday, the highest number screened since March 15, 2020 as air travel begins to rebound from a pandemic-related drop.

COVID-19 has devastated air travel demand, with US airline passenger demand down 60% in 2020 and down 63% in January. But with a growing number of Americans getting vaccinated, demand and advanced bookings have started to rise in recent weeks. Friday's numbers were still down 38% over pre-COVID-19 levels.