The joy of holiday travel is upon us. And this year, it's about to get worse.
A new announcement from the TSA states that the security agency has already screened a record number of passengers this year and "anticipates airport security checkpoints nationwide will be busier than ever this holiday travel season."
"We expect this holiday season to be our busiest ever. In 2023, we have already seen seven of the top 10 busiest travel days in TSA's history," said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. "We are ready for the anticipated volumes and are working closely with our airline and airport partners to make sure we are prepared for this busy holiday travel season. We will also do our best to maintain wait time standards of under 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck® lanes and under 30 minutes for standard screening lanes. I am grateful for our dedicated employees who continue to remain vigilant and focused on the mission during this holiday travel season and beyond."
Ten minutes and 30 minutes doesn't sound so bad, but that's definitely optimistic.
Thanksgiving travel officially kicks off on Friday, November 17 and runs through Tuesday, November 28. TSA expects to screen 30 million passengers during that 12-day period, with the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday afterward expected to be the busiest.
TSA is projecting to screen 2.6 million passengers on Tuesday, November 21; 2.7 million passengers on Wednesday, November 22. The busiest travel day will likely be Sunday, November 26, when everyone returns to their home cities, and 2.9 million passengers are expected to pas through TSA.
Let's all just hope for good weather nationwide, no delays and solid leftovers packaging for an in-flight sandwich.