Some 2.46 million people passed through the airports this Wednesday, almost reaching the record after the pandemic

Full airports for Thanksgiving 1:16

(CNN) --

 Newly released government figures show a near-record number of people traveling by air on Wednesday, in what was expected to be one of the busiest days for major airlines in years.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checked in about 2.46 million people Wednesday at airports across the country, just shy of the 2.49 million people checked in on July 1, 2022, when travelers of holiday weekends set a new record for air travel since the pandemic hit air travel.

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Airlines are off to a good start after major flight cancellations this summer were compounded by staff shortages.

FlightAware data shows that US airlines canceled just 60 flights on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, United Airlines did not cancel any flights and American Airlines says it operated "99.9%" of schedule for the day, which it says was the most ambitious among any US airline.

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More busy days ahead.

The TSA says Sunday will be the next big travel day of the Thanksgiving holiday week.

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