Thursday will mark the start of the busiest airport travel days across the U.S. as the July 4th holiday arrives. That includes travelers at Oklahoma’s major airports in Oklahoma City and Tulsa where according to AAA, there will be a 4% increase in air travelers.
The TSA folks say they are prepared for sustained higher summertime passenger volumes at airport security checkpoints nationwide. They also expect the busiest travel days to be from June 29 through July 5.
The peak travel day of the holiday weekend is expected to be Friday, with TSA screening an estimated 2.82 million individuals and approximately 17.7 million during the seven-day travel period. Friday’s travel figure would surpass the agency’s current single day travel record since Friday, June 16, where TSA screened nearly 2.8 million passengers. The peak Independence Day holiday travel day in 2019 was Sunday, July 7, where TSA screened 2.79 million passengers.
“TSA is staffed and ready for the increasing travel volumes during this holiday travel period with the technologies and resources for improved security effectiveness, efficiency and passenger experience at security checkpoints,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.
“This is largely due to the funding we received in FY23 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which places all TSA employees on the same pay scale as most other federal employees. With the new pay implementation plan for all TSA employees starting in July, attrition levels at TSA have dropped to historic lows, which means our increased employee retention has resulted in sufficient staffing levels to meet the increased passenger demand throughout the country.
