The record was broken ahead of Memorial Day weekend The Transportation Security Administration reported on Saturday the number of air passengers being screened at US airports.
More than 2.9 million travelers were screened at U.S. airports on Friday, surpassing the previous record set last year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, according to the Transportation Security Agency.
“Officers set a new record for the most travelers screened in one day!” TSA tweeted. “We recommend arriving early.”
The third busiest day on record came Thursday, when just under 2.9 million travelers were screened at U.S. airports.
Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport, had its busiest day ever. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport broke a traffic record Thursday as 111,000 passengers, airline crews and airport employees were screened at security checkpoints. The second busiest day followed Friday, when 109,960 people were screened, according to the TSA.
With 104.6 million passengers, Atlanta’s airport was the world’s busiest last year, according to Airports Council International.
US Airlines expect to carry record number of passengers this summer. Their trade group estimates that 271 million travelers will fly between June 1 and August 31, beating the previous record of 255 million. last summer.
AAA predicts this will be the busiest early summer weekend in nearly 20 years, with 43.8 million people expected to be at least 50 miles from home between Thursday and Monday, with 38 million of them driving cars.
The annual expression of wanderlust that accompanies the start of summer. travel season comes as Americans tell pollsters they are worried about the economy and direction of the country’s development.
Memorial Day, long observed every May 30 to honor America’s fallen soldiers, officially became a federal holiday in 1971 and was observed on the last Monday in May.
Jason Redman, a former Navy SEAL who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, told The Associated Press last year that he honors the friends he lost. He has thirty names tattooed on his arm “for every guy I personally knew who died.”