Travelling to or through the US this weekend? Best to pack some patience as federal officials expect air-travel records to fall as Americans turn the timing of July Fourth on a Thursday into a four-day – or longer – holiday weekend.

At the same time, AAA is forecasting that 70.9 million people will travel at least 80 km from home over a nine-day stretch that began June 27, a 5% increase over the comparable period around the Fourth of July last year. Most of those people will drive, and the motor club says traffic will be the worst between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. most days.

The Transportation Security Administration predicts that its officers will screen more than 3 million travellers at US airports on Sunday. That would top the June 23 mark of more than 2.99 million. American Airlines said Sunday is expected to be its busiest day of the entire summer; it plans more than 6,500 flights.

TSA was created after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and replaced a collection of private security companies that were hired by airlines. Eight of the 10 busiest days in TSA’s history have come this year, as the number of travellers tops pre-pandemic levels.

The head of the agency, David Pekoske, said Wednesday that TSA has enough screeners to handle the expected crowds this weekend and through the summer.

“We have been totally tested over the course of the last couple of months in being able to meet our wait-time standards of 10 minutes for a PreCheck passenger and 30 minutes for a standard passenger, so we are ready,” Pekoske said on NBC’s “Today” show.