WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation

Security Administration (TSA) said it screened 2.95 million

airline passengers on Friday, the highest number ever on a

single day.

The record travel coincides with the Memorial Day weekend

that marks the beginning of the U.S. summer travel season. Last

week, a group representing major U.S. airlines forecast record

summer travel with airlines expected to transport 271 million

passengers, up 6.3% from last year.

The TSA said Friday's travel broke a record set in November

of nearly 2.91 million air passengers screened. Five of the 10

busiest ever travel days have been since May 16, the agency

said.

Airlines for America said U.S carriers plan to fly more than

26,000 daily flights this summer, up nearly 1,400 over 2023, or

5.6%, when they carried 255 million passengers. The summer

travel season forecast is for June 1 to Aug. 31.

American Airlines ( AAL ) said it will boost flights by 10%

this summer expects 10% higher passengers over the May 23-May 28

Memorial Day travel period -- nearly 3.9 million passengers on

36,000 flights.

United Airlines is forecasting it will handle 3

million travelers during the Memorial Day travel period, up

nearly 10% and its highest number ever during the period.

Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) said it expects a 5% jump in

Memorial Day weekend customers to nearly 3 million customers

between May 23-27.

The forecast comes as the Federal Aviation Administration is

struggling to address a persistent shortage of air traffic

controllers. Some airlines voluntarily trimmed New York flights

last summer to address congestion issues and have raised new

concerns about the lack of controllers.

Airlines can lose their takeoff and landing slots at

congested airports if they do not use them enough.

The FAA extended cuts to these minimum flight requirements

at New York City-area airports through October because of

staffing issues, and major airlines last month asked for those

cuts to be extended through October 2025.