A Record-Breaking 2.8 Million Flyers per Day Will Hit US Airports This Summer

May 21, 2019

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2 min read

A Record-Breaking 2.8 Million Flyers per Day Will Hit US Airports This Summer

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Hopefully you have TSA PreCheck. This summer, you're going to need it.

A record-breaking number of travelers are expected to hit airports during this year's peak summer travel season, industry group Airlines for America said Tuesday.

Between June 1 and August 31, a whopping 2.8 million passengers per day are expected to fly on US airlines. That's a total of 257.4 million flyers for the three-month period, an extra 93,000 daily passengers compared to last summer, a 3.4-percent increase. This year's expected total would mark the tenth consecutive summer there's been a summer travel record for passengers flying on US airlines.

Part of the reason for the influx of summer air travelers is cheap airfares. In 2018, inflation-adjusted airfares dropped in price for the fourth consecutive year, Airlines for America says, with an average US domestic ticket running about $350.

“With airlines offering low fares and reinvesting billions of dollars in their product, there’s never been a better time to fly," Airlines for America Vice President and Chief Economist John Heimlich said in a release. "Air travel is the nation’s safest form of transportation, and it is now more affordable than ever before. US carriers are making airline flights more and more accessible, so it’s no surprise that more and more Americans are flying.”

Thankfully, US carriers are adding 111,000 seats per day through the summer to accommodate the tens of thousands of extra flyers.

But be warned: Airport security checkpoints around the country could be choked by the extra travelers passing through. So, if you haven't applied for TSA PreCheck yet, now's your chance to enroll in the program to beat the summer crowds. Many travel rewards credit cards offer a credit to cover the cost of signing up for TSA PreCheck. Here's a list of the top seven credit cards for PreCheck and Global Entry.

Featured image by Use these apps to stay sane in crowded airports and long lines! Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.