(Reuters) — The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 1.357 million U.S. 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 U.S. airline passenger demand down 60% in 2020 and down 63% in January.
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.