With millions of passengers travelling for the Thanksgiving holiday last week, a new U.S. airport screening record has been set by TSA. Here's a look at the record.
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Airport Traffic Record
Along with watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and watching NFL games on Thanksgiving, travelling by plane to family gatherings was a Thanksgiving tradition celebrated in 2025.
TSA reported a record for passengers screened on Nov. 30, the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
"TSA screened about 3,133,924 individuals, the highest number ever in TSA's history, bringing our Top 10 busiest days all above 3M," TSA tweeted Monday.
The total passengers screened broke a record of 3,096,797 passengers previously set back in June. All 10 of the busiest airport traffic days in the U.S. have taken place in 2024 or 2025.
Here are the top 10 busiest travel days in the U.S. based on TSA screening data by passengers screened:
- Nov. 30, 2025: 3,133,924
- June 22, 2025: 3,096,797
- Dec. 1, 2024: 3,088,836
- July 20, 2025: 3,043,973
- July 6, 2025: 3,041,954
- July 27, 2025: 3,017,861
- Oct. 10, 2025: 3,017,612
- July 7, 2024: 3,013,622
- May 23, 2025: 3,010,183
- July 13, 2025: 3,007,773
Along with Sunday's record, TSA also said more than 18 million passengers were screened from Tuesday, Nov. 25, through Monday, Dec. 1.
Last year saw the Sunday after Thanksgiving (Dec. 1, 2024) rank third all-time among days of screened passengers in the U.S.
Good News for Airline Stocks?
While a record amount of passengers in airports probably meant headaches for those flying to and from family gatherings and the people working for airlines and airports, it could be good news at just the right time for airline stocks.
The new TSA record comes less than a month after the end of the government shutdown. The record 43-day government shutdown saw cuts to flights with shortages of traffic controllers and other employees, who were not getting paid during the federal work stoppage.
Leading U.S. airlines like American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL), Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL), United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ:UAL) and Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV) could all benefit from the record traffic and likely fully-booked flights.
The airline companies could see disruptions in revenue from the government shutdown and may still end up reporting weaker-than-expected results for the current quarter. The record traffic for Thanksgiving could help offset that weakness.
The major airlines will report quarterly earnings in January.
The US Global Jets ETF (NYSE:JETS), which counts the four airline stocks above as its largest holdings, could benefit from strong earnings results from the companies and positive news for the sector.
The ETF closed up 1.71% to $26.65 on Tuesday, nearing a 52-week high set back in January.
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