1.6 million US air passengers fly in a day for first time since March 2020

More than 1.6 million people traveled through U.S. airports on Sunday, the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic that air travel has been this high.

The last time more than 1.6 million people traveled through U.S. airport checkpoints was March 12, 2020, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), before lockdowns and recommendations against travel spurred by the pandemic.

More than 1.5 million people traveled through U.S. airports in March, which was the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that air travel had reached those levels. 

On Saturday, TSA screened more than 1.3 million passengers at U.S. airports, compared with the 134,261 people who were screened on May 1, 2020. More than 1.5 million people were screened on Friday.

TSA announced on Friday that the federal mask mandate for all transportation networks, including on airports, in airports, on buses and on rail systems, would be extended through September. It went into effect in February with an expiration date of May 11, which has now been moved to Sept. 13. 

President Biden signed an executive order on his first full day in office directing federal agencies to “immediately take action” to mandate the use of masks on trains, intercity buses, ferries and in airports.