Air travel hits new record: 2.6 million travelers on Friday

COLUMBIA, S.C. (CNN)– U.S. air travel hit a new pandemic-era record on Friday.

The Transportation Security Administration says it screened more than 2.6 million people at airports nationwide.

That number represents a 10% increase over the same day last year, and tops the previous pandemic-mark of last year’s Sunday after Thanksgiving.

The record also sets the stage for what is expected to be a busy Memorial Day weekend travel period.

AAA predicts air travel will be 11% higher than the same weekend in 2019.