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This Labor Day marked the first time that travel volume for a holiday weekend topped levels from before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
The TSA said 8.76 million travelers went through its checkpoints between Friday, Sept. 2 and Monday, Sept. 5, compared with 8.62 million passengers over the long holiday weekend in 2019. Last Friday was the busiest travel day, with 2.48 million people passing through airport security.
While more people have been taking to the skies again during the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, air travel’s recovery has been troubled, with this summer being one of the most chaotic travel seasons in decades. Many travelers have faced flight cancellations or delays, long lines at airports and lost luggage as airlines contend with labor shortages and schedule changes.
Airline experts had recommended people flying over Labor Day weekend book nonstop flights and get to airports early to avoid potential headaches. But most travelers over the last long holiday of the summer fared pretty well, according to data from FlightAware. The flight-data provider said 0.6% of flights over the long weekend were canceled, while 16.6% of flights were delayed. Both measures were lower than they were during this year’s July 4th and Memorial Day weekends.
“The airlines really got it together,” said FlightAware spokeswoman
Kathleen Bangs,
a former airline pilot. She added that airlines had good weather and had already pared back flight schedules.
Following the summer disruptions, airlines and airports around the globe have extended passenger caps and cuts to flight schedules into the coming months.
From long lines to delays and cancellations, airports around the world have been trying to manage a post-pandemic travel surge with a shortage of staff. WSJ follows an American Airlines pilot through the disruptions to unpack how airlines are trying to fix it. Photo Composite: Emily Siu
Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com
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