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The
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects to screen
about 20 million air passengers during the travel period,
compared with nearly 26 million in the same period in 2019. On
Monday, the TSA screened 2.1 million U.S. air passengers, the
fifth consecutive day with checkpoint volume topping 2 million.
The holiday weekend is a test for carriers after a spate of
flight cancellations marred travel over the summer. One in five
Americans are concerned about delays and cancellations,
according to a new American Pecans/YouGov survey.
But with the weather expected to remain calm for Thanksgiving on
Thursday, airlines are sounding confident.
"We're staffed and ready to get our customers to where they need
to go safely, reliably and enjoyably," a Delta Air Lines
spokesperson said.
The Atlanta-based carrier has hired 8,000 new employees
including 1,500 reservation agents. American Airlines has
recalled 1,800 flight attendants this month, while Southwest
Airlines has hired more than 4,500 employees in the past few
months.
American, Southwest and JetBlue are also offering bonuses,
higher pay and other incentives to ensure they have enough
workers. Southwest has cut flight schedules to enhance ontime
performance and bolstered its customer relations department.
The Thanksgiving week is shaping up to be the busiest travel
week in two years as rising COVID-19 vaccination rates have made
Americans more confident to travel again.
Travel group AAA estimates 53.4 million people will travel for
the Thanksgiving holiday, up 13% from 2020, with air travel
recovering to about 91% of pre-pandemic levels.
Rising gas prices are the biggest concern of American this
holiday season, the YouGov survey found.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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