T.F. Green sets screening record over July 4 weekend

T.F. Green Airport saw its largest number of people traveling through security checkpoints of 2024 on July 7. The airport saw 8,260 individuals screened, according to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) data.

Nationally, TSA also set a screening record, with more than 3 million travelers passing through checkpoints this past Sunday. The past two weeks have been some of the busiest in history; the previous record was set on June 23 with around 2.99 million people screened.

“We expect this summer to be our busiest ever and summer travel usually peaks over the Independence Day holiday,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske in a press release.

Nine of the ten busiest days of 2024 at T.F. Green have occurred since June 14.

“The traveling public is on the move, which is a sign of a healthy economy,” Pekoske added. “We are ready, along with our airline and airport partners, to handle this boost in passenger volumes.”

At T.F. Green, when more than 7,000 travelers are screened, it is considered “busy” for the airport, according to TSA regional spokesperson Daniel Velez. Between June 27 and July 8, eight of the 12 days surpassed this threshold of visitors.

The airport has also been considerably busier than it has in the past.

“T.F. Green’s throughput has been trending in the upward direction with some travel days seeing a 25% increase compared to the previous years,” Velez explained.

During busy times, Velez recommended travelers plan ahead, even though TSA attempts to stay in certain benchmark times no matter how busy the airport is: less than 30 minutes for regular travelers. Rush hours at airports tend to be between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. or 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., he added.

Various economic factors have inspired this busier flight season, including lower airfares and a stronger U.S. dollar value compared to other currencies.