TSA preparing for Thanksgiving travel to hit pre-pandemic levels

How US rules on international travel are changing

More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns prompted the U.S. to close its borders to international travelers, restrictions are shifting to focus on vaccine status beginning Nov. 8, 2021.

WASHINGTON - The number of airline passengers traveling for Thanksgiving this year is expected to rebound to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, but the Transportation Security Administration says it is ready to handle the surge.

Administrator David Pekoske said Wednesday he expects agency staffing to be sufficient for what's traditionally TSA's busiest travel period.

"We are prepared," Pekoske told ABC's "Good Morning America." He said travelers should expect long lines at airports and plan to spend a little more time getting through security.

In 2019, a record 26 million passengers and crew passed through U.S. airport screening in the 11-day period around Thanksgiving. But that plummeted in 2020 as the pandemic kept people at home.

2 planes synchronize takeoff from London to mark return of US travel

Two flights bound for New York City synchronized their take-offs from London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday, November 8, to celebrate the reopening of United States borders to fully vaccinated travelers from dozens of countries, including the UK. (Credit: Robert Tidd via Storyful)

Pekoske said he didn’t think a vaccine mandate going into effect for TSA agents Monday would have any effect on staffing for Thanksgiving next week.

"In fact, implementation of the mandate will make travel safer and healthier for everyone," he said. "So, we see quite a significant increase in the number of our officers that are vaccinated, and I'm very confident that there will be no impact for Thanksgiving."

Pekoske told NBC's "Today" on Wednesday he remains "very concerned" about the issue of unruly passengers as incidents on airplanes have continued.

"The level of unruly behavior is much higher than I've ever seen it," he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it has referred 37 cases involving unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible criminal prosecution since the number of disruptions on flights began to spike in January.