According to TSA New England Spokesman Daniel D. Velez, TSA officers at Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport screened an average of 6,240 passengers each day in the weekend leading up to Independence Day, with 4,093 the day of.

Velez said Monday passenger volume is typically low the day of July 4, with another bump as travelers head back home after the holiday. This year continued that pattern, with 6,791 passengers on July 6, the sixth-busiest day recorded this year. Compared to the average day in June (5,908 passengers), this represents a noticeable increase due to holiday traffic.

So far, 2023 has been a busier year than the previous three years, in step with a steady national rise in air traffic as travel returns to pre-pandemic levels. In 2021, Green traffic immediately post-holiday peaked on July 5 with 4,040 passengers screened by the TSA; in 2022, July 6 was the highest at 5,203. This year, an average day in June is higher than either of those peaks. Green saw its busiest day in three years—7,204 passengers on Thursday, June 22 - although the TSA is unable to explain exactly why that day drew such a crowd. “Just a random busy day,” said Velez.

John Goodman, Assistant Vice President of Media and Public Relations for the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, noted that the TSA screened an all-time record 2,883,595 passengers nationally on June 30, the Friday before Independence Day.