Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Reports suggest fewer planes have been making frequent runways due to planes that have run into problems
US airline passengers headed to Thanksgiving destinations have made travel plans that’ve likely broken a historical record, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has said.
That’s despite fewer flights being made at some US airports due to problems with some airplanes.
Earlier this month, thousands of passengers were stranded due to a mass-flight cancellation, as Delta and United reported issues with parked planes on their runways.
Planes are being moved to a location where they are needed, the airlines say.
The Thanksgiving travel season has begun, and so far this year, 2.3 million travellers have left from airports in the US and Canada.
However, the TSA does not release a breakdown for how many air travellers departed for the holidays from each airport.
So far this year, 89.7 million air travellers have left for the US from airports in Canada and the US. That’s a drop of roughly 4% from last year.
‘Most fearful’
In 2015, some airports saw almost twice as many travellers heading to the holiday than those who were expected.
Passengers normally peak around 6am on Thanksgiving Day, when the holiday has a 37-hour travel period.
The TSA’s acting director of airport security, Calvin Scovel, said this year his department is particularly concerned about threats against this year’s travellers.
The huge number of travellers will help spread those threats, so we are taking every precaution to identify potential threats in flight and on our grounds, he said.
“That may include putting hundreds of additional aviation security officers in every airport across the country,” he said.