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TSA screens season-high 8.76 million travelers during Labor Day weekend

Transportation Security Officers intercepted 4,312 firearms at checkpoints in 2022

FILE - People wait in a TSA line at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Tuesday, June 28, 2022. With summer vacations winding down, airlines are counting on the return of more business travelers to keep their pandemic recovery going into fall 2022. Air travel in the United States, bolstered by huge numbers of tourists, has nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Business travel, however, remains about 25% to 30% below 2019 levels, according to airlines and outfits that track sales. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File) (Julia Nikhinson, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

WASHINGTON – U.S. officials screened 8.76 million air travelers over the four-day Labor Day weekend, marking the first time holiday weekend screening volume exceeded 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced Tuesday that the four-day period topped the 8.24 million passengers screened over Labor Day weekend in 2019, which traditionally marks the end of the busy U.S. summer travel season. A space launch in Florida that could have impacted air travel over the weekend was cancelled.

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According to a press release from TSA, “officers intercepted 67 firearms and prevented them from entering aircraft passenger cabins. On average, TSA stopped 17.3 firearms each day at checkpoints since the beginning of the year. If this pace continues, TSA anticipates that firearm catches at checkpoints will eclipse the current full year-record of 5,972 firearms intercepted at the nation’s checkpoints in 2021.”

“TSA’s highly trained and dedicated workforce facilitated secure travel for millions of passengers during the busy summer travel season with very little disruptions at the checkpoint,” said TSA Acting Administrator David Pekoske. “We were also able to continue the deployment of new technologies that facilitate stronger identity verification procedures and enhanced security screening for carry-on bags.”'

TSA also said in the press release, “Through effective collaboration among airlines and airports within the transportation, more than 12 million TSA PreCheck passengers enrolled.

“As travelers prepare to embark on future trips, they may submit questions about TSA checkpoint procedures via Twitter at @AskTSA or via Facebook Messenger to a team of TSA employees who provide real-time responses on average within five minutes from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily, including weekends and holidays,” TSA confirmed.

Passengers or families of passengers with disabilities and/or medical conditions may call the TSA Cares helpline toll-free at 855-787-2227 at least 72 hours prior to flying with any questions about screening policies, procedures, or to find out what to expect at the security checkpoint as well as arrange for assistance at the checkpoint.


About the Author
Ryan Mackey headshot

Ryan Mackey is a Digital Journalist at WPLG. He was born in Long Island, New York, and has lived in Sunrise, Florida since 1994.

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