Cleveland Hopkins Airport on Sunday Saw Highest Passenger Numbers Since March

Dec. 29—CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on Sunday saw its highest number of departing passengers since mid-March, despite health officials' pleas to stay home over the holidays.

The Transportation Security Administration screened 10,369 departing passengers at Hopkins' three checkpoints on Dec. 27, two days after Christmas. That's the highest number since March 13, when 10,909 travelers passed through TSA in Cleveland, and when the coronavirus pandemic was in its early stages in the U.S.

Health officials in recent weeks have pleaded with Americans to stay home during the December holidays, fearful of a surging virus in early 2021, even as COVID-19 vaccines become increasingly available.

Nationwide, TSA also reported its highest numbers of screened passengers since March on Dec. 27. On Sunday, 1.3 million passengers passed through TSA checkpoints at airports across the country, the highest number since March 15, when 1.5 million passengers were screened.

Despite the recent uptick in air travel, both in Cleveland and nationwide, the number of Americans flying is down dramatically from a year ago. In 2019, on the Sunday after Christmas, 2.6 million travelers passed through TSA checkpoints — twice as many as this year.

In Cleveland, airport officials earlier this month predicted that 200,000 passengers would travel through Hopkins, both departing and arriving, during the winter holiday period, Dec. 18 through Jan. 4.

From Dec. 18 through Dec. 28, TSA had screened a total of 78,893 departing passengers in Cleveland. The seven-day Cleveland TSA average for last week was 7,764 — nearly a third higher than the week before, according to figures.

The busiest travel days in Cleveland have been Dec. 27, with 10,360 passengers; Dec. 26, with 10,308; and Dec. 28, with 9,247. On Christmas Day, 5,229 travelers were screened in Cleveland.

___

(c)2020 Advance Ohio Media, Cleveland

Visit Advance Ohio Media, Cleveland at www.cleveland.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.