Nearly 2 million people travel through US airports on Memorial Day as seasonal businesses struggle to prep and hire for what they hope will be a busy summer
Airline travel in the US hit its highest levels since the pandemic began over Memorial Day weekend with nearly 2 million people screened at airport security on Monday.
Data from the Transportation Security Administration recorded more than 1.9 million people passing through security checkpoints at American airports on Memorial Day - more than 400 percent more than last year, when just 353,261 people traveled through American airports on the federal holiday.
Data from the Transportation Security Administration recorded more than 1.9 million people passing through security checkpoints at American airports on Monday
Travelers line up at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday to kick off Memorial Day Weekend, which saw a huge increase in travelers compared to 2020
Travelers check in for their flights at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday for the first holiday weekend since coronavirus pandemic restrictions have been relaxed
The weekend saw impressive travel increases as COVID infections and deaths continue to plummet. With 1,959,593 recorded travelers, last Friday was the busiest travel day at airports since the start of the pandemic last year.
On Monday - Memorial Day - the U.S. reported a record low, 5,735 infections of COVID-19, which is the lowest figure since March 21, 2020.
Currently, there are an estimated 52 cases per million people, which is a 55 percent decline from the 117 per million reported three weeks ago, and a number not seen since March 20 of last year, according to Our World in Data.
While the number of people traveling is rising, 2021 figures were far below 2019 Memorial Day numbers, which saw nearly 2.5 million travelers before the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation.
The busy travel weekend was good for airlines-including American and United - whose stocks rose Tuesday around 3 percent in morning trading, CNBC.com reported.
Budget carriers Allegiant, Frontier and Spirit were each up more than 3 percent as well, CNBC.com reported.
On Monday - Memorial Da, - the U.S. reported a record low, 5,735 infections of COVID-19, which is the lowest figure since March 21, 2020
Christina Ranuro, who runs the White Sands Resorts and Spa in Point Pleasant Beach,(pictured) says this year the hotel is having trouble staffing
People lie on the beach and enjoy the sunshine in Coney Island in New York City on Memorial Day
A maskless crowd makes their way through the Coney island boardwalk on Memorial Day
Earlier this month, AAA officials predicted more than 37 million Americans would hit the roads, traveling 50 miles or more during the holiday weekend, an increase of 60 percent over last year, but 13 percent less than the number of people who traveled in 2019.
The organization projected that more than nine in 10 of all Americans who decided to travel for Memorial Day would do so by car, although gas prices have jumped to their highest levels since the summer of 2019.
GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan tweeted on Sunday that gasoline demand increased nearly 7 percent over the week, and demand surged 9.6 percent above the average of the previous four Sundays.
Just two days before, he reported that demand broke a new record, making a 'new post-COVID high,' and last week, he said that demand has come 'roaring back,' which, he argued, inflated gas prices to its highest level in years.
Gas prices were surging above $3 per gallon nationwide for the first time in seven years, FOX Business reported, and as of May 31, the average price of gas nationwide was $3.04 per gallon, according to AAA.
As travel increases, many businesses across the country are scrambling to meet expected demand in anticipation for a bustling summer season.
Local businesses in Jersey Shore are hopeful for the first summer season after the pandemic.
Christina Ranuro, who runs the White Sands Resorts and Spa in Point Pleasant Beach, told CBS This Morning she typically hires 150 seasonal employees to work at the resort and restaurant but this year it is having trouble staffing.
'We really only have 1/3 of what we normally hire,' she told CBS. 'We're really, really short handed.'
Being short staffed has forced her to work overtime as the hotel continues to post 'help wanted' ads, and even increased the starting wage from $12 an hour to $15 an hour.
This reflects a larger nationwide trend of businesses desperately looking for workers now that the country is slowly resuming to pre-pandemic level activities.
The challenge to get people back to work is that many trying to re-enter the workforce still struggle with child care, foreign students are struggling to get work visas and seasonal work does not pay as well as unemployment benefits, CBS reported.
'We have an unprecedented hiring crisis going on right now,' Michelle Sikekerka, President and CEO at the New Jersey Business & Industry Association told CBS. 'They're pulling out all the stops, have sign-up bonuses, we have free food, free entertainment, a lot of incentive going on.'
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