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TSA warns Friday might be its busiest day ever for screening airline passengers

The TSA projects that more than 2.6 million airline passengers will fly Friday.
Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Travelers use the automated screening lanes funded by American Airlines and installed by the Transportation Security Administration at Miami International Airport on October 24, 2017 in Miami, Florida.

The number of airline passengers this Friday before the July Fourth holiday will approach a record, the head of the Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday.

Airlines forecast a record number of travelers this summer, with 246 million people flying from June 1 to Aug. 31. TSA Administrator David Pekoske the agency typically screens about 2.2 million passengers a day, but could top 2.6 million on Friday. The busiest day since TSA was created in 2001 screened 2.7 million travelers.

And TSA has tightened security since last summer, with greater scrutiny for laptops and other electronics and a new focusing more attention on powders.

TSA is coordinating with airports and airlines to handle the higher volume of passengers with tighter security, Pekoske said.

“We expect that this coming Friday will potentially be one of busiest days ever in TSA history, in terms of passenger throughput busiest ever," Pekoske told reporters on a conference call. “We’re doing that while we’re also enhancing security."

While TSA has been tightening the screening of powders for months at domestic airports, the standards are being applied to international flights heading to the U.S. starting Saturday.

TSA recommends packing containers larger than 350 milliliters, or about the size of a can of soda, in checked bags. Baby formula, for example, is allowed in carry-on bags. But if a checkpoint officer can't resolve what the powder in a carry-on bag is, the passenger might be forced to discard it at the checkpoint in order to board a flight.

"We will need to resolve what that powder is at the checkpoint," Pekoske said.

He urged travelers with questions about what they can bring on flights to check TSA.gov or tweet at @AskTSA, where staffers respond to questions.

Pekoske promoted Precheck, an expedited program where travelers who get a background check and pay $85 for five years are allowed to keep on their jackets and shoes at checkpoints, and leave laptops and small containers of liquids in carry-on bags.

Enrollment for the program could potentially be merged with Global Entry, a Customs and Border Protection program which expedites screening for international flights and includes Precheck for domestic flights. But Pekoske said any merger is probably more than a year away.

"We’re trying to make that a little simpler, a little easier," he said.

Since Memorial Day, Pekoske said travel screening has gone well. More than 99 percent of Precheck travelers wait less than 10 minutes and 96 percent of travelers in standard checkpoint lanes wait less than 20 minutes.

"That overall is within our standards, for sure," Pekoske said.

Lines can peak at 45 minutes to 60 minutes for a short period of time with bad weather or a high volume of travelers, he said.

"We collectively between the TSA, airports and airlines are ready for the passenger travel that we predict," Pekoske said.

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