With summer air travel remaining near peak levels and TSA introducing its new Gold+ screening program, researchers at Upgraded Points analyzed checkpoint throughput data to identify which U.S. airports were most affected by the 2026 TSA funding lapse. As policymakers focus on modernizing airport security and millions of travelers head through TSA checkpoints this summer, the study provides one of the first airport-by-airport looks at how staffing shortages affected screening operations during a major federal funding disruption—offering new insight into which airports proved most vulnerable and which remained resilient. In the study, airports are ranked according to the percentage change in average daily TSA throughput.

With Fourth of July travel expected to surge, researchers at Luxury Link analyzed domestic airline traffic data to examine where Americans are flying for the holiday and how increased demand affects flight reliability. The analysis found that scheduled flights rise 16.3% during the week ending on July 4th, while cancellations jump 121.5% and flights delayed more than three hours increase 74.6%. Alaska (+51.7%), Maine (+50.9%), and Montana (+49.9%) experience the nation's largest holiday-related increases in arriving flights. For complete rankings of “change in daily arrival flights during July 4th week” by metro and state—see the full report.

About 70 protestors from across the Granite State stood outside the passenger terminal at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport on Sunday, ho…