Travel Tuesday with Danielle ~ TSA Seeks to Hire 6,000 New Employees over the next Few Months!

by Danielle Garrett of PlanIt Itineraries for The Aha! Connection

TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has announced a goal to recruit 6,000 new employees for 430 airports nationwide by the summer of 2021. Melanie Harvey (Executive Asst Administrator for TSA) stated “we expect to screen a higher number of travelers regularly by the summer months.” Clearly, airports around the country are preparing now for a busy summer. This is based on anticipated seasonal travel trends in the months ahead and the progress of the Covid-19 vaccinations.

Is this a sign of things to come? It looks that way! It was also announced this week by PHICOR (a public health research group) that the U.S. should be at 40% total immunity by March and possible herd immunity (somewhere in the range of 70-90%) as early as July. An article on Feb 18 in the Opinion section of the Wall Street Journal went as far as saying that they expect herd immunity by April; and for life to begin normalizing! Of course, many things could throw us off course, but I’ll take any positive news at this point!

There is no doubt that TSA and the airlines are watching this data closely and beginning to hint at an onslaught of travelers this summer.

Domestic travel will be huge this summer, especially for travelers going out west. I am already having discussions with hotels and fly fishing companies out west that are seeing a clear trend towards selling out earlier than normal. What will happen with international travel, you ask? It’s hard to predict given the complexities of international travel, but I am hopeful! At the very least, I am feeling pretty darn good about my trip to Italy this Fall!! 🙂 SO, my advice to everyone is don’t wait too long to book if you are hoping for a vacation beyond 30A. Flight prices adjust quickly with rising demand and the best accommodations always get scooped up first.

Please remember to travel responsibly, wear your mask and do not travel unnecessarily if you are elderly or immune-compromised! And remember to check your destination’s travel restrictions/requirements before and during planning, as well as double-checking before departure!