WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – This Thanksgiving week could see record travel numbers according to federal leaders. The Transportation Department says its coordinating with federal agencies and airlines to try to ensure the holiday season goes smoothly despite the uptick in travelers.
“These will likely be some of the busiest travel days in U.S. history,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
The TSA expects to see record-setting numbers next week. The agency projects they’ll screen 2.8 million passengers on Tuesday, 2.9 million passengers on Wednesday, and more than three million passengers on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
TSA administrator David Pekoske says the agency has seen high numbers all year and is ready for the holiday rush.
“This year passenger volumes of the highest we’ve ever seen, and fortunately our staffing in TSA is also at the highest levels we’ve that they have ever been,” Pekoske said.
The Federal Aviation Administration is dealing with shortages among its workforce, but Administrator Michael Whitaker says it has a plan to minimize the impact.
“During the Thanksgiving travel period, we will use traffic flow management initiatives to deal with any staffing shortages,” Whitaker said.
He also says the agency has made strides in staffing and plans to hire another 2,000 air traffic controllers over the next year.
“While we know everyone wants to get to their final destination as quickly as possible, our priority is to get you there safely,” Whitaker said.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says because of recent reforms travelers have more protections than ever before, like his department’s new rules demanding automatic refunds for changes or canceled flights, and new standards of compensation for delays.Â
“We can take and have taken a number of steps to make travel better,” Buttigieg said.
