nation s airports and airlines. cbs lilia luciano is at l.a.x. tonight with more. lilia. reporter: good evening, adriana. there are long lines here at l.a.x. and at airports nationwide. that s proof that the holiday travel rush is on, and with it, of course, the masks. spring break travel is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, with millions of fliers facing jam-packed airports, higher prices, and concerns about covid. i just try to be as careful as i can. reporter: more than two million travelers went through t.s.a. checkpoints friday, a jump of nearly 55% from 2020. the increased demand is leading to some flight cancellations, with pilot shortages and protests over working conditions. we ha the same concerns and frustrations as the flying public. it leaves us stranded without answers. we are dealing with the angry passengers. reporter: the holiday weekend rush comes as new covid daily infections nationwide have jumped 32% in a week. and while there s a slight
department s best partners. janai, thank you. we re going to turn to the millions on the move tonight. the start of a long holiday weekend. travelers taking ting to the sk and roads for easter and passover. 31 states and territories seeing an increase in new cases of the virus of 10% or more. here s gio benitez. reporter: tonight, one of spring s busiest travel weekends now under way. today and monday are expected to be the busiest travel days nationwide. united alone with more than 400,000 passengers a day. delta with nearly half a million. i think it will be one of the busiest passover easter weekends we have seen in recent history, perhaps the past three or four, even five years. reporter: airfare also up by 40% for domestic flights just since january. this comes after several weekends of mass cancellations blamed on weather and pilot shortages. in fact, the slines pilots union writing to the ceo,
them? here s abc s gio benitez. reporter: tonight, some airlines say they re cutting flights this summer to limit chaos at airports after a weekend packed with cancellations for jetblue and spirit. more than 600 canceled flights. jetblue now cutting at least 8% to 10% of flights during the busy summer travel period. al a because of pilot shortages. this as experts say e air fare by 40% since the start of the year and will rise another 10% by the end of may. a tremendous amount of demand from travelers who have not been able to travel the last two spring and summer seasons. and the second factor is jet fuel. reporter: in fact, jet fuel prices are also up 40% since the beginning of the year. 76% since this time last year. but scott keyes, who monitors cheap flight prices, says not all hope is lost. we are still siege an abundance of cheap flights, even as they re creeping back up.
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