The TSA screened nearly 8.8 million passengers over Labor Day weekend, surpassing 2019 as travel demand continues to rise post-pandemic

• The US Transportation Security Administration screened nearly 8.8 million passengers over Labor Day weekend, the agency said.
• According to TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein, the number represents 102% of 2019 levels.

The US Transportation Security Administration screened more passengers over Labor Day weekend than seen during pre-pandemic levels, suggesting travel demand is finally getting back on track.

On Tuesday, TSA data showed 8,761,883 passengers were screamed at security checkpoints in the US from Friday to Monday, compared to 8,617,318 during the same time in 2019.

According to TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein, the 2022 numbers represent "102% of checkpoint volume for the same pre-pandemic holiday weekend in 2019."

The Labor Day statistics from the TSA come as the industry experienced a relatively calm holiday weekend. Unlike previous long weekends like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, which saw thousands of flight disruptions, Labor Day only had 642 cancellations to, within, or out of the US, per FlightAware data.

By comparison, the Memorial Day weekend saw about 2,800 cancelations, while the July 4 holiday had just over 1,800, according to FlightAware. During those weekends, the TSA screened 8,787,517 and 8,826,532 passengers, respectively.

While both holidays saw slightly more travelers than Labor Day weekend, they are both still behind 2019 levels during the same time frame, which saw 9,742,373 over Memorial Day and 10,074,186 over the Fourth of July.

Labor Day numbers catching up to pre-pandemic traffic suggests the demand for air travel is continuing to rise, particularly since COVID-era restrictions were lifted in the US and abroad. The US Federal Aviation Administration predicted in its Aerospace Forecast that demand would "improve in 2022", estimating that 522 million people would board domestic passenger flights in the US this year.

"Leisure travel has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels and business travel is steadily catching up," the agency said.

On a global scale, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a March 2022 forecast that passenger volume would reach pre-pandemic levels by 2024. Specifically, the agency predicts industry-wide traffic would be at 94% of 2019 in 2023, 103% in 2024, and 111% in 2025.