Holiday getaway pushes US airport traffic to pandemic high

The Fourth of July holiday weekend is jamming US airports with their biggest crowds since the pandemic began in 2020 (Marta Lavandier/AP)

The Fourth of July holiday weekend is jamming US airports with their biggest crowds since the pandemic began in 2020.

About 2.49 million passengers went through security checkpoints at US airports on Friday, surpassing the previous pandemic-era record of 2.46 million reached earlier in the week, according to figures released on Saturday by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).