More than 3 million travelers screened at US airports in a single day. That’s a record

Travelers heading home after the Thanksgiving holiday set a record Sunday as airport agents screened more than 3 million people.

The Transportation Security Administration said Monday it has handled the case 3.09 million travelers on Sundaybreaking the previous record by approximately 74,000. That figure was determined on July 7, also a Sunday after a public holiday.

Hundreds of thousands of travelers were delayed or had their flights canceled. According to FlightAware, airlines have canceled about 120 U.S. flights — not an unusually high number — and more than 6,800 flights have been delayed. The highest numbers of delays occurred at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

A busy day was also expected on Monday. By midday there were about 80 flight cancellations and more than 2,000 delays.

Amtrak rail service between Philadelphia and New York was temporarily shut down on Monday due to damage to overhead electricity wires.

And some travelers trying to return home faced delays on the roads.

Traffic at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport came to a standstill Sunday evening, with the airport using social media to issue notices to motorists avoid either of the two main access roads. Some people posted on X that they missed their flights due to the gridlock.

A DFW Airport spokesperson attributed the gridlock to “the large volume of holiday traffic in a short period of time.” She said the airport has deployed additional police officers to help with traffic flow.

The TSA had forecast that air travel during Thanksgiving week would increase 6% compared to the same days last year, which would fit a pattern of record travel in 2024.