Airlines in the U.S. are preparing for a record number of travelers over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects the busiest ever Thanksgiving travel weekend with more than 30 million people passing through U.S. airports in the coming days.
The TSA says it has already screened nearly eight million air travelers since Nov. 17, the majority of whom are traveling for the annual Thanksgiving holiday.
Furthermore, the TSA forecasts that this coming Sunday (Nov. 26) will be the busiest day ever for air travel in America. The current record stands at 2.88 million passengers set on June 30 of this year.
So far, 2023 has been a busy year for air travel with seven of the 10 busiest days in U.S. history occurring in the last six months.
However, airlines are still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic when they lost a combined $168 billion U.S. as borders were closed around the world.
Carriers in the U.S. say they are preparing for record travel volumes in the coming days, with United Airlines (UAL) planning to fly nearly six million passengers for Thanksgiving.
Similarly, American Airlines (AAL) is forecasting that it will fly a record 7.8 million passengers in the coming days.
A record Thanksgiving without significant disruptions due to weather or system problems, followed by strong Christmas travel, could give the airlines a boost heading into year end.
United Airlines’ stock is down 8% over the last 12 months and trading at $40.02 U.S. per share. The stock of American Airlines has declined 11% over the past year to trade at $12.40 U.S. a share.
