Busy flights: Air travel is back

10/24/23 8:00PM

Flying high

‍If you’ve made plans to fly over Thanksgiving, we have bad news: your flight is going to be busy. In fact, if the latest passenger volumes are anything to go by, it’s going to be busier than ever.

Data from the TSA reveals that an average of 2.48 million people passed through their airport screening every day over the week ending October 23rd, up 10% on the same week in 2019. That's the first time since Covid that the figures have diverged significantly — air travel isn’t just back, it’s booming.

We probably don't need to remind you that the pandemic was devastating for the $1.17 trillion travel market. What's surprising is how long it has taken to return to pre-pandemic numbers. Reopening attempts were hampered by new Covid variants, understaffing caused chaos during the summer of 2022, and winter storms caused thousands of cancellations.

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Tom Jones7/10/26

The most watched soccer match in US history got less than a third of the views the Super Bowl did

Between a top-spot finish in the group stage, a sweeping performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, and the president’s controversial intervention, Monday evening’s USMNT game against Belgium had, to put it lightly, shaped up into a box-office clash.

And though the US players’ performance on the pitch might not have lived up to the high drama off it, American soccer fans certainly showed up. According to early estimates, the 4-1 defeat against Belgium was the most watched soccer telecast in US history, hauling some 40 million viewers on average across the coverage on Fox and Telemundo.

That may be a record tally in the US for the sport that much of the world calls some variant of “football” — besting the 36.2 million who tuned in to watch the team’s previous knock-out match — but it’s still peanuts in comparison to the sport that shares the same name in the States.

Tom Jones

burning question

6/24/26

Over 50% of Americans say climate change is a serious threat; only 10% think their compatriots feel the same

That perception gap on the issue is among the highest in the world, per a new Gallup poll.

Youth Climate Strikes Break Out Across The U.S.

Reddit’s advertising business is getting bigger. It’s already booming.

The platform will plow more money into its ad offerings as it cements itself as a “trove of human intelligence.”

Tom Jones6/22/26

Tom Jones

plane pain

6/22/26

45% of Americans say they’re not taking a summer vacation this year, mostly due to costs

Flight comparison site Skyscanner is recommending some cheaper alternatives closer to home.

Bored annoyed man looking funny and angry during his summer staycations

Tom Jones

6/17/26

Despite slight declines, Japanese tourism figures are still hovering around record highs

Tourism: Still big in Japan.

Aerial view of Tokyo cityscape with Fuji mountain in Japan.

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