Two million passengers were screened daily at security checkpoints throughout American airports over the past three days - more than doubl...
Two million passengers were screened daily at security checkpoints throughout American airports over the past three days - more than double the number from the same period last year as holiday travelers get an early jump on Christmas vacation.
The surge in travel comes despite the skyrocketing number of newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19, which public health experts say is being fueled by the new Omicron variant.
On Thursday, more than 2.06 million passengers went through security checkpoints at airports, according to official figures from the Transportation Security Administration.
By Friday, more than 2.23 million travelers went through airport terminals nationwide, according to the TSA.
On Saturday, there was a slight decrease of holiday fliers - 2.035 million.
The figures are in stark contrast to last year, when the country was in the grip of lockdowns during the pre-vaccination period of the pandemic.
Two million passengers were screened daily at security checkpoints throughout American airports over the past three days - more than double the number from the same period last year as holiday travelers get an early jump on Christmas vacation
On December 16, 2020, just 846,934 passengers went through TSA checkpoints - about a third of the total number from the same day in 2019.
A year ago on Friday, slightly more than 1.066 million were scanned through airport checkpoints - a sharp drop from the 2.6 million who flew on the same day in 2019.
The December 18, 2020 figures show that 1.073 million were scanned at TSA checkpoints - less than half of the 2.487 million who flew on the same day in 2019.
The statistics indicate that Americans remain committed to resume normal life despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases nationwide.
The increasing number of hospitalizations prompted government officials to intensify calls for unvaccinated Americans to get inoculated.
The new Omicron variant has so far contributed to a record number of infections in New York and threatened to wipe out a second holiday season in Europe.
Though the calendar is about to change, Friday had a distinctly 2020 feel: NFL games were postponed because of COVID-19 infections.
The Rockettes Christmas show was canceled for the season.
European governments imposed a spate of restrictions that ground travel to a halt and saw travelers lying low.
Much remains unknown about Omicron, but officials warn that it appears more transmissible than the Delta variant, which has already put pressure on hospitals worldwide.
Scientists are urgently trying to confirm data from South Africa which suggests the new variant may cause milder illness.
And the continued uncertainty has been enough for many people to change their plans.
The Biden administration has so far resisted tightening any restrictions, but also sketched out dire scenarios for the unvaccinated in a plea for hesitant Americans to get the shot.
'For the unvaccinated, you're looking at a winter of severe illness and death, for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm,' White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said Friday, echoing the president's own comments earlier this week.
The image above shows a long line of passengers waiting to depart Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida on Thursday
The new variant is already in 'full force' in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, with new cases hitting a one-day record of more than 8,300 on Thursday.
But new hospitalizations and deaths – so far – are well below their spring 2020 peak and even where they were this time last year, city data shows.
The coronavirus also interrupted sports in the US again.
The NFL announced Friday that three games would be pushed from the weekend to next week because of outbreaks. The league has not specified whether the cases came from the omicron variant.
The Radio City Rockettes called off four performances scheduled for Friday because of breakthrough COVID-19 cases in the production, and plans for upcoming shows were still being assessed.
The popular holiday program generally has four shows per day in December at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.
Dr. Stanley Weiss, a Rutgers University epidemiology professor, said officials need to react faster, citing a willingness to redefine fully vaccinated to include booster shots, for example.
'Everyone wants us to be through with this pandemic, but in order to get us through it, we can't ignore the realities of what's going on and what is needed,' Weiss said.
Amanda Wheelock, 29, a graduate student at the University of Michigan, canceled a trip to France with her partner as cases spiked there.
Even though the surge isn't necessarily due to Omicron, the uncertainty about the new variant, and a new requirement that all US travelers have to test negative before flying back to the US, made her worry that the trip would be more stressful than fun.
Instead, she's traveling to the Anchorage, Alaska, area to see friends.
'A vacation with a lot of stress is probably not a great vacation,' said Wheelock, who is from Arvada, Colorado.
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