U.S. airport passengers hit highest level since March 2020

FILE PHOTO: Travelers at O'Hare International Airport ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in Chicago·Reuters

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 1.357 million U.S. airport passengers on Friday, the highest number screened since March 15, 2020 as air travel begins to rebound from a pandemic-related drop.

COVID-19 has devastated air travel demand, with U.S. airline passenger demand down 60% in 2020 and down 63% in January. But with a growing number of Americans getting vaccinated, demand and advanced bookings have started to rise in recent weeks. Friday's numbers were still down 38% over pre-COVID-19 levels. (Reporting by David Shepardson Editing by Alistair Bell)

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