WASHINGTON: Airports in the United States saw their largest number of passengers in a year on Friday, data showed, following a shuddering halt in travel brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Just over 1.35 million travellers were checked in at American airports on Friday, the most since March 15 last year, according to Transportation Safety Administration figures.

Despite the recovery, volume is still nearly half of what it would normally be this time of year.

The previous high since the onset of the coronavirus crisis was seen on January 3, with nearly 1.33 million passengers. Air traffic had plunged to a record low 87,534 passengers on April 14. The United States has been battered by the world’s biggest reported outbreak of the virus, with some 534,000 deaths. However, the country has administered over 100 million doses of the vaccine and new cases numbers have fallen from their highs over the holiday season.