The US Transportation Security Administration
screened 1.64 million passengers on Thursday at US airports, the highest number since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic slashed travel demand.
The number of US air travellers is still about 35 per cent lower than the same date in 2019, down nearly
one million travellers, the TSA said. Airlines in the country have been adding more flights, anticipating rising summer travel demand.
US airline stocks rose on Friday, on optimism about travel demand, with United Airlines up 2.3 per cent, American Airlines up 2 per cent and Delta Air Lines up 2.3 per cent.
An American Airlines flight taxis to the runway prior to departing Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on May 4. EPA