A man receives a COVID-19 test of the nostril at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) amid a coronavirus wave in Southern California on December 22, 2020, Los Angeles, California. The tests are not mandatory if the results are returned within 24 hours to help travelers avoid quarantine at their destinations. TSA agents screened over 1 million people for three consecutive days last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the beginning of the traditional holiday travel season, for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)
Flights exceeded 1 million daily passengers in the United States all weekend before Christmas, the TSA reported, breaking the record for most weekend travelers since the pandemic took over the country in March.
Although the daily number is still less than half of the travelers screened last year, according to The Washington Post, the 3.2 million passengers who traveled over Friday, Saturday and Sunday exceeded Thanksgiving travel numbers, marking the only one time during the pandemic that over 1 million passengers boarded planes three days in a row. Passenger numbers hovered just under 1 million on Monday and Tuesday.
Health officials have warned Americans to stay home this holiday and keep holiday parties small. The CDC urged virtual gatherings and families to celebrate with them in their own households to avoid spreading COVID-19.
But figures show that many are not deterred by the pandemic. The CDC urged those traveling to acquire COVID-19 tests before and after, but the tests are not mandatory.
The death toll could reach 450,000 in February, the CDC warned earlier this month.
MORE FROM WEATHER.COM: Photos that defined 2020
A member of the Honduran Air Force hangs from a ladder from a helicopter as he rescues a man after the overflow of the Chamelecon River after Hurricane Iota, in the municipality of Choloma, department of Cortes, Honduras, on November 19 at. 2020. The year’s biggest Atlantic storm triggered mudslides, tore buildings apart, leaving thousands homeless in Central America, returning to areas devastated by another hurricane just two weeks ago. (Orlando Sierra / AFP via Getty Images)
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