cnn's pete muntean joins us with more. they're going to pay people to train for these jobs now. is that right? >> reporter: pay mechanics to train on the job. that's the new approach for this new shortage. airlines need to hire 610,000 new mechanics globally in total over the next 20 years. united calls the program cele celebrate, and does it by have been people apresentition in-house. there's 6,000 on top of that through traditional hiring means. this is so critical, who has not waited on a plane from the airlines because of a mechanical issue? remember, airlines got smaller over the pandemic. united sell that calibrate is thei theically, to train on your own, $50,000. if you apresentics, you maybe $24 to $52 an hour, you get paid the entire time. there's so many labor shortages, we've been telling you about pilots. they have the avian academy, airlines are trying to tackle this issue, especially with the holidays on the horizon. we know staffing issues have created a lot of delays. >> pete muntean, thank you. ♪ also the top of the hour, i'm bianna golodryga, victor is off toda

cnn's pete muntean has more on that. >> reporter: airlines have been preparing for the rush at airportseir own, hiring thousands of new workers from the front desk to the flight deck. 24-year-old ellie dahl is about to follow in who are father's footsteps as a commercial pilot. >> this is probably one of the best times in history to become a pilot. >> reporter: ellie is joining piedmont. at the charlotte center 400 new pilots have been trained. >> they're doubling the size of the airline. >> reporter: piedmont announced a $100,000 signing bonus for new captains. >> opportunities have never been better. >> reporter: new industry shows staffing has exceeded pre-pandemic levels. the hiring blitz comes after airlines struggled canceling 55,000 flights due in part to staffing shortages. but hiring is happening beyond just pilots. american airlines says it has hired 12,000 employees this year company wide. southwest airlines says it has hired more than 15,000 and at united airlines, 2,000 new customer service representatives are helping passengers in new ways. >> this is debby speaking, may i

pete muntean has the story. >> reporter: airlines have been preparing for the rush at airports with a rush all of their own, hiring thousands of new workers from the front desk to the flight deck. 24-year-old ellie dahl is about to follow in her father's footsteps as a new commercial pilot. >> this is probably one of the best times in history to become a pilot. >> reporter: ellie is joining piedmont airlines. 400 new pilots have been trained here since june. >> we have true ambitions to build the positions and do you believe the-- double the size o the airline. >> piedmont announced a $100,000 signing bonus. >> staffing at the major airlines has exceeded prepandemic levels. the hiring blitz comes after airlines struggled canceling 55,000 flights due in part to staffing shortages. hiring is happening beyond pilots. american airlines says it has hired 12,000 employees company wide. southwest airlines says it has hired more than 15,000 and at united airlines, 2,000 new customers have helped. >> you scan a qr code for a video call. agents can now connect with a stranded pass sen dwer at o

pete muntean joins us now. pete, how can they be so calm? >> reporter: that's a great question.ard and his passenger were able to communicate with rescuers via cell phone for hours while they awaited getting rescued, trapped inside that single-engine mooney airplane. now we're hearing from the pilot in these new 911 audio types, and in it he describes simply just how terrified they were being stuck in this airplane 100 feet up, in that pepco transmission tower. rescuers # say it first hit the transmission lines and then the tower. it happened about a mile away from the montgomery county airport, he was apparently aligned with the southeast facing runway, but in the 911 audio tape, he simply explains that he could see the ground but could not see in front of him. i want you to listen now to how he describes this issue. >> totally visibility for the airport. i descended to the minimum altitude and then apparently i got down a little bit lower than i should have. i thought i was closer to the airport than i was. >> it took eight hours for merkel and his passenger to be rescued from

cnn's pete muntean has been talking to the experts about how to save some money and help trips go smoothlys in. >> reporter: and i, the big question here is whether or not all these tips you are seeing online are really all that valid. we put some of these to the test. we tried to figure out whether or not they really work. these numbers are so huge. tsa is anticipating 2.5 million people to pass through security tomorrow. that is the highest number we have seen since the july, 2022. we have not seen numbers this high for a long time now. we may see records of the pandemic. we will get a listen to this piece, where we put all the steps to the test with a trio of expert. i want you to see just how they stack up. >> travel tips you might not know about, let's go. >> reporter: travel hats are going viral ahead of the thanks giving rush. with aaa project in more than 54 million people traveling 50 miles or more between wednesday and sunday. returned to a trio of travel experts for the best advice to make your trip smoother. one of the biggest tips? ditch the checked bag and bring only a carry-

aviation correspondent pete muntean is live at reagan national airport. as we've been talk to you, things have been moving very smoothly. >> the rush has come and gone here at reagan national. 2.46 million people screened by tsa yesterday at airports nationwide. that number only 6% off from what we saw on the same day back in 2019 before the pandemic. the good news here is that airlines have really been able to deliver. just check flight aware. the cancelation numbers very low compared to the highs we saw over the summer when airlines canceled about 50,000 flights. so far 60 canceled yesterday. the big superlative on tuesday, united airlines main line and regional flights, zero cancellations. let that sink in for a second. american airlines delivered a 99% of the flights it said and operating the biggest schedule of any airline on that day. there has been a lot of hiring at the airlines and the federal government also to make sure they've been ready for this at the faa level. air traffic control, also at the tsa and i want you to listen to tsa administrat

let's begin with cnn aviation correspondent pete muntean at reagan national airport. w are the holiday crowds moving this morning? >> reporter: the crowds are moving pretty good today, jim. they've been big over the past few days, 2.46 million people screened at airports nationwide just yesterday by the tsa. what's so interesting about that is that number only about 6% off from where we were in 2019 before the pandemic. we're pretty close to a pandemic-era air travel record, although not quite. the good news here is things have been relatively smooth for passengers and airlines after they had really big cans trump administration problems over the summertime. 50,000 flights canceled in total. just check flightaware. today so far, only 28 flights canceled, 60 flights canceled yesterday. the superlative on tuesday, united airlines canceled zero flights network wide. that includes mainline and regional flights. at american, they operated 99.9% of all the flights. that was the biggest scheduled of any airline planned for the thanksgiving rush. i want you to listen to the he

cnn's pete muntean joins me now on the phone. pete, what more can you tell us?'re getting right now is very preliminary. we know that both airplanes were part of the airshow, and they were part of the air force. the bigger show, both of these airplanes both served in world war ii. a b-17 flying fortress, the bomber that you've seen in the movies over and over again, and a p-63, a pursuit plane, those are exceedingly -- only about b-17 maybe even fewer, p-63's, probably three or four worldwide. you can see in the video, that p-63 ran into the b-17 bomb, or the larger airplane. and a range of parts came down in the middle of this air show, and a huge fireball. but preliminary, nobody on the ground was hurt. these air shows involve a lot of risk and a lot of discipline from the pilots. it is a practice and we'll perform thing that they do. but the issue here is that we just know all that much about how this took place. what was going on at the time, if the pilot of one of the airplanes lost sight of the other one? we do know that these airplanes were performing in

as cnn's pete muntean reports, power was out for tens of thousands of citizens of mer l maryland. >>ighters are calling it a high stakes rescue from high voltage power lines. two people survived this crash, only to remain trapped 100 feet up as crews de-energized the wires. >> this is a challenging event. it's like a car crash up in the air. >> reporter: the crash caused power outages for 120,000 people in the blink of an eye. >> i saw two big flashes and i thought it's just lightning. >> reporter: but the rescue of pilot and passenger took hour after cold hour. power crews, along with firefighters responded, reassuring the pilot and passenger over the phone. >> they were anxious, they were concerned about the stability of the aircraft, the stability of the aircraft remaining in the tower structure. >> reporter: the pilot and passenger were carefully loaded into a specialized 178-foot cherry picker, then lowered to the ground. the 65-year-old man and 66-year-old woman were rushed to a hospital with hype therm ya. the crash took place in the dark, only a mile from the flight's destina

pete muntean, cnn's aviation correspondent is at washington reagan national airport. to see you on solid ground, not in traffic as you were all day yesterday. seems like so far so good. how are the airlines doing? >> reporter: so far so good indeed, alex. you know, things are in a bit of a lull that we an tis paided after a really busy start to the thanksgiving travel rush. 2.46 million people screened at airports nationwide ju yesterday by the tsa. what is so interesting about that number is it is just tvel record. in fact, only 6% off of the same day back in 2019 back before the pandemic. things have been relatively smooth for travelers and for the airlines. mostly aided by good weather after these major meltdowns the airlines had in terms of cancellations over the summertime, 50,000 cancellations in total. look at the cancellations of just yesterday. we only had 60 cancellations yesterday, 50 so far today. in fact, on tuesday, united airlines says network wide that means main line and smaller regional united express flights, they cancelled zero flights. let that sin

cnn's pete muntean is on the scene. pete, but it was a complicated rescue, how are the passengers doing now? >> reporter: very tricky and very complicated, bianna. you know, long, dark, cold hours of those two people on board that single-engine moony stuck up in that transmission pole of these high tension wires run by pepco here. 65-year-old man and 66-year-old woman. they were taken to a nearby hospital after they were rescued about 12:30 this morning. they were brought down from a cherry picker that firefighters used to take that man and woman out one by one. the big issue is that they had to stay suspended in the airplane in those power lines as crews deenergized the line to make sure that they could make a safe rescue. what's also so incredible here is that the two on board were able to communicate with firefighters, about 100 of them, on the ground here via cellphone. it was only after those two people on board that plane got on the ground, i want you to listen now to firefighters when they were able to realize th

to here's cnn's pete muntean. >> reporter: we are in a short-lived air travel lull but it's about to come back the sunday after thanksgiving when everybody begins coming home at at once, the tsa screening 1.4 million people at airports across the country on thanksgiving day, the lowest since february. but the day before, 2.46 million people screened by the tsa at airports nationwide, that number only 6% up of the same day 2019 before the pandemic and just shy of a pandemic-era air travel record. now question is will sunday hit a pandemic-era record and could it hit the all-time air travel record when the tsa screens 2.88 million people at airports nationwide the sunday after thanksgiving, back in 2019. i asked tsa administrator if that's a real possibility that time around. >> this holiday will probably be the biggest holiday travel period we think since the pandemic. so prepandemic on the sunday following thanksgiving almost 3 million passengers. we'll be pretty close to that the sunday following this thanksgiving. >> reporter: the numbers are so important because of all the uncerta

pete muntean has more. >> reporter: luxury is what flying was supposed to be.o small on planes. >> we're dying. and it doesn't matter what airline it is. >> i can't imagine seats or aisles being smaller than they are today. >> now the federal aviation administration is considering whether to stop airlines from making seats smaller. >> leave everything and come this way. >> reporter: the agency is under a congressional mandate to study whether seat size could slow on evacuation. but in 26,000 public comments, many focused on comfort. >> the more people that you could jam into a plane, the more money you'll make. >> reporter: flyers's rights said they're trying to squeeze out more profit. this week six u.s. senators told the faa to act urgently and not wait for seats to get any smaller. so i decided to put airlines to the test. two things necessarily for this little experiment of our own. a tike and a tape measure. on this united airlines flight, leg room was right at the industry standard, 30 inches. but it all depends on the airline. leg room could get even tig

pete muntean reports. >> airlines have been preparing for the rush at airports with a rush of their own. hiring thousands of new workers from the front desk to the flight deck. 24-year-old ellie is about to follow in her dad's footsteps as a new commercial pilot. >> this is probably one of the best times in history to become a pilot. >> ellie is joining piedmont arms which operates thousands of regional flights for american airlines. at its charlotte training center, 400 new pilots have been trained here since june. >> we have real ambitions to grow the airline, essentially double the size of the airline. >> seasoned pilots are also in demand. piedmont just announced a $100,000 signing bonus for new captains. >> the opportunities have never been better. >> new industry numbers show staffing at the major airlines has exceeded prepandemic levels. the hiring blitz comes after airlines struggled this summer, canceling 55,000 flights due in part to staffing shortages but hiring is happening beyond just pilots. american airlines says it has hired 12,000 employees this year company wide. south

cnn aviation correspondent pete muntean has more. >> reporter: luxury is what flying was supposed tos -- >> welcome aboard. >> reporter: -- leg room is shrinking as passengers are getting larger. >> things are definitely getting too small on planes. >> we're dying, and it doesn't matter what airline it is. >> i can't imagine seats or aisles being smaller than they are today. >> reporter: now the federal aviation administration is considering whether to stop airlines from making seats smaller. >> leave everything, come this way! >> reporter: the agency is under a congressional mandate to study whether seat size could slow an evacuation, but in 26,000 public comments, many focused on comfort. >> the idea is that the more people you can jam into a plane, the more money you will make. >> reporter: flyers wrights president hudson writes they're trying to squeeze out more money. i decided to put airlines to the test. two things necessary for this little experiment of our own. a ticket and a tape measure. on this united airlines flight leg room was right at the industry standard, 30 inches,

pete muntean, thank you very much. >>> we are learning some new details about the mass shooting thatngs, colorado. i'll speak with someone who worked at that club. that is coming up right after the break. shop early a and save, only at kay" ♪ two new ihop lunch and dinner menu items for twice the goodness, twice the flavor, and twice the choice. sirloin salisbury steak and l-natural salmon. perfect for lunch or dinner. only at ih. download the app and earn free food with every purchase the holidays were awkward for romeo and juliet. but after saving big with amazon black friday... ...tragedy was avoided. ♪ shop legendary deals find your beat your moment of calm find your potential then own it support your immune system with a potent blend of nutrients and emerge your best every day with emergen-c ♪ what will you do? will you make something better? create something new? our dell technologies advisors can provide you with the tools and expertise you need to bring out the innovator in you. up to 300 miles of range on a full charge. and a starting price around $30,000. evs for everyone,

cnn aviation correspondent pete muntean has the story. >> reporter: airlines have been preparing forth a rush all of their own. hiring thousands of new workers from the front desk to the flight deck. 24-year-old elly gull is about to follow her-n her dad's footsteps as a new commercial pilot. >> this is one of the best times in history to become a pilot. >> reporter: she's joining piedmont airlines when operates thousands of regional flights for american airlines. and at the charlotte training center, 400 new pilots have been trained here since june. >> we have doubled the size of the airline. >> reporter: seasons pilots are also in demand. piedmont just announced a $100,000 signing bonus for new captains. >> the opportunities have never been better. >> reporter: new industry numbers exceed pre-pandemic. cancelling 55,000 flights in due to pilot shortages. but american airlines said it has hired 12,000 employees this year companywide. southwest airlines has hired for man 15,000. and at united airlines, 2,000 new customer service representatives are helping passengers in new ways call

pete muntean, thank you so much for that report. i'm brianna keilar in "the situation room."rts right now. ♪ >>> "outfront" next, markets plummet after protests spread in china. and tonight the country going to new extremes to censor what the chinese people are seeing. is a brutal crackdown coming? we're live in beijing tonight. >>> plus, election deniers

pete muntean, cnn, washington. >>> we are still more than five weeks away from the official start ofin the u.s., but for many, the frigid temperatures already here. about 28 million people under freeze alerts from the northeast in washington, d.c. and philadelphia down to the southeast in atlanta, where we are, where they've opened a warming center for the homeless community. there are also winter weather advisories in parts of the midwest and southwest. let's bring in meteorologist pedram javaheri. we'll both be wearing thick jackets when we leave here tonight. >> yeah. you know, these first couple of cold waves of the season definitely get a lot of people's attention. it's a shock to the system as well. that's exactly what's happening across the southern u.s. where incredibly cold air given the time of year it is, even into places such as montgomery, alabama, atlanta, georgia, middle 30s. compare that to a more mild setup there across new york city, comparably speaking of course, in boston and new york city, sitting around 40 or so degrees. not often do you see november temps colde

cnn aviation correspondent pete muntean is live from the scene for us. what happened. this is quite the story. >> reporter: so incredible, ana. think about what it was like those long, cold hours in that single-engine moony plane that was stuck in the transmission tower here of these high tension wires as the crow flies we are only about a mile away from the nearby montgomery county airport. this plane was coming in to land according to the faa and those pilots and the passenger were stuck in the plane, dangling for hours, until fire crews and the local power company pepco could effort a safe rescue. many, many volts flowing through those power lines. what is so interesting and we're just hearing this now from investigators, they're holding a press conference right next to me, they were able to remain in contact with the pilot and passenger on board that plane almost constantly. this crash happened at 5:30, it took about seven hours for crews to ground the power lines, to make it safe for them to go up an 178-foot-tall specialized insulated cherry picker

cnn's pete muntean has more on the quest for comfort. >> reporter: luxury is what flying was supposedtting too small on planes. >> we're dying. it doesn't matter what airline it is. >> i can't imagine seats or aisles being smaller than they are today. >> reporter: now the federal aviation administration is considering whether to stop airlines from making seats smaller. >> evacuate, evacuate, leave everything, come this way. >> reporter: the agency is under a congressional mandate to study whether seat size could slow an evacuation. but in 26,000 public comments, many focused on comfort. >> the idea is that the more people you can jam into a plane, the more money you'll make. >> reporter: fliers right president paul hudson said airlines are trying to squeeze out more profit. this week six u.s. senators told the faa to act urgently and not wait for seats to get any smaller. so i decided to put airlines to the test. two things necessary for this little experiment. a ticket and a tape measurer. on this united airlines flight, legroom was right at the industry standard, 30 inches. but it a

. >> our colleague pete muntean is live at reagan national airport for cnn this morning.his. because with everything more expensive, people are pulling back a lot. there's all this recession talk, but they're buying expensive flights. >> reporter: no doubt, poppy, you know, people are done buying things, the travel experts say. now simply are ready to travel. it's been pretty busy here at reagan national airport today but what is so interesting the travel experts tell us really tickets are not much more expensive than they were back in 2019. and people are simply waiting until the tickets go down. we've all done it. overpaying, in essence, from adobe analytic, people paid $7.7 billion in october. 15% higher than before the pandemic. but the average numbers are roughly the same as what we saw back then. it's about $275 for a domestic round trip over thanksgiving, according to hopper. $283 for a domestic round trip over christmas. but what's clear, i want you to listen to the expert, do not wait until the last minute. you may have missed your chance with thanksgiving. you s

want to go there now with pete mun muntean. good morning to you, pete.rescued. obviously the incident was terrible. how were they able to make the rescue happen. >> reporter: good morning, don. for those folks now on the ground after those long, cold, dark hours in that single engine plane that rescuers left the folks inside dangling there for hours as they tried to figure out how to safely cut off the power of these high tension wires. this plane crashed into these wires at about 5:30 last night. but it wasn't until well after midnight that the crews were able to start the rescue. they came up using a cherry picker and were able to get the pilot and passenger off one by one. that process in and of itself took about an hour. what is so interesting here is that the ground crews were able to communicate with those on board the plane using a cell phone. and incredibly, they weren't all that hurt. i want you to listen now to one of the 100 firefighters on the scene here, who says it really wasn't until folks were on the ground that they were able to learn th

cnn's pete muntean is live in washington. ooh, could be some gridlock today out there. good news, pete, if you're stuck in traffic, my friend, gas prices actually falling a bit. >> reporter: it's so true, erica. that is a bit of good news, though you have to consider the fact this is the highest gas has been for thanksgiving rush, ever. $3.61 is the national average cob to aaa, but we're hearing from drivers, they're not actually undaunted. this is i-95 near woodbridge, virginia. you know this spot if you've been driving here. this is the linchpin where everything comes to a grinding halt. weather kind up in the worst time right now to travel for the rush. 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. today. that is the worst time. that is the time to avoid. if you're trying to time your trip out, maybe wait until after dinner, trying to time your trip home, maybe early saturday or sunday, but it's tricky when you consider so many places have traffic like what we're sees. metro areas across the sundays. atlanta, new york, san francisco, l.a., chicago, you may see suggestion twice the norm tod

pete muntean has the details. >> reporter: max, bianca, no impact just yet by delta pilots voting to strike if necessary, but a pretty big symbolic move and one to definitely watch especially if so many people are watching the airlines going into the holiday season. and as so many pilot unions are in contract talks with the airlines. really having a labor moment right now. pilots from delta, united, southwest and american are all in contract talks with their companies. united airlines pilots just voted against a tentative contract agreement from their airline. delta though really making the most dramatic move here saying that in a vote of 96% of its pilots from its chapter of the airline pilots association, 99% voted in favor of a strike if necessary. delta pilots are really pushing for better pay and in some cases restructured pay, especially since they point at high revenues reported by the airline in the third quarter. the pandemic rebound has pretty much hit its peak now. delta says, quote, delta pilots are not on strike. this authorization vote will not affect the operation for

cnn aviation correspondent pete muntean has the latest on this. >> reporter: ana, this incident happenedontieres airlines flight on friday. but the big question is how did these box cutters make it through tsa screening to begin with. they tell me they're reviewing it to the highest level and admits to failures of its own procedures. they failed to review the footage where a man not identified showdown up with two book bags, but them through the screening equipment. tsa workers inspected the bags this. is where it gets interesting. one of the workers found one of the box cutters, and instead of throwing it away, gave it back to a man. the tsa also admitted the second box cutter was not discovered. i want you to listen to passengers who within on the flight when this man started making threats. >> when he went to go to the bathroom, the passenger in the window seat like at me. he said, we e need to go say something. >> reporter: the tsa is rescreening everyone. also regionally they're retraining they say. needless to say they'll get a bulletin about stepping up their ville lens especially

cnn's pete muntean has the story. >> reporter: airlines have been preparing for the rush at airportsith a rush all their own, hiring thousands of new workers from the 24-year-old ellie is about to follow in her dad's foot steps. >> this is probably one of the best times in history to become a pilot. >> ellie is operating piedmont airlines. 400 new pilots have been trained here since june. piedmont gave a bonus for new captains. the hiring blitz comes after airlines struggled this summer, cancelling 55,000 flights due in part to staffing shortages. but hiring is happening beyond just pilots. american airlines says it has hired 12,000 employees this year company wide. southwest airlines says it has hired more than 15,000 and two customer service representatives are helping passengers in two ways. it call it's called agent on demand. >> i think this is going to be great help, especially now that we're having snow everywhere. >> airlines insist they now have the right people in the righ t places. >> we can be flexible. >> now, will he or won't he? the question is president biden isn't ac

pete muntean, cnn, washington. >>> u.s.n security administration is admitting to multiple failures after a man with two box cutters was aloud on to a commercial light over the weekend. >> he allegedly threatened passengers mid flight as they were headed from kentucky to tampa, florida. the plane had to be diverted to atlanta where the man was taken into custody. the tsa says agents did not fully use the screening technology at their disposal and also returned visible blades to the passenger even after the inspection. >> unbelievable. no one on the flight was injured. the agency says employees nationwide will be given reminders on the proper protocols on this type of situation. >> i should hope so. >>> in custody in connection with the blast in istanbul turkish officials are calling a terror attack. turkey's interior minister blamed separatists for carrying out the attack. >> it happened on a busy street. the heart of turkey's largest city. >> now for the latest on this story, we're joined by scott mclean. you've been follow

cnn's pete muntean joins us with more. they're going to pay people to train for these jobs now.n on the job. that's the

pete muntean has all the details on this and much more. pete, what's this all about? advocacy crackdown by the federal government. the department of transportation is forcing six airlines to pay passengers money that they were owed when their flights were canceled or significantly delayed. we're talking $600 million in r refunds in total from six different airlines to these passengers. on top of that the department of transportation is also levying huge fines against these airlines totaling more than $7 million, mostly foreign carriers, but the only u.s. carrier on this list, ultra low cost frontier forced to pay $2.2 million in federal fines. the list goes on. i want you to listen to transportation secretary pete buttigieg who says he simply wishes this wouldn't have to come to this because passengers simply want to get to where they're going and get the money back they're owed. >> our overall objective is to make sure passengers get their money back. this really shouldn't be happening in the first place. it shouldn't take an enforcement action from the u.s. departme

pete muntean is live in washington. i'm happy you're not struck in traffic today, pete. i feel better about your assignment. what could we expect in the next couple of days. >> thanks, erica. we're in the short lived lull. between the russia h from the thanksgiving holiday. look at the numbers at airports nationwide according to tsa. 1.4 million people yesterday, that is the anticipated low number of the week. in fact, it is the lowest number we've seen since february. but look at wednesday. the day before thanksgiving. that is when we saw 2.46 million people screened by tsa at airports across the country. that number only 6% off of what we saw on the same day back there 2019 before the pandemic. in fact, it is really just shy of a pandemic era air travel record. now the big question, when everybody begins coming home on sunday, when we could see this really big number again, and could we see an all time air travel record. p not just pandemic era, but the all-time record, 2.88 million people screened by tsa at airports nationwide on the sunday after thanksgiving, 2019. i

aviation correspondent pete muntean looks at how packed the airports may be. >> reporter: we're in ahort lull but it's about to come roaring back after thanksgiving when everyone comes home all at once. the tsa screened 1.4 million people in airports across the country, it's the lowest number since february. look at the day before, 2.55 million people screened by tsa nationwide. that's only 6% off from 2019 before the pandemic. and just shy of a pandemic era air travel record. now, the question is will subject hid a pandemic era record and could it hit the all time record? when the as it screens 2.88 million people the sunday after thanksgiving in 2019. i asked the tsa administrator if that's a possibility this time around. >> this holiday travel is going to be the biggest holiday travel since the pandemic. prepandemic on the sunday before thanksgiving, almost 3 million passengers, we'll be pretty close to that this sunday following thanksgiving. >> reporter: these numbers are uncertain because of the airport uncertainty that airlines cancelled 50,000 flights in total, due in part to

cnn aviation correspondent pete muntean has more. >> reporter: luxury is what flying was supposed tonitely getting too small on planes. >> we're dying. and it doesn't matter what airline it is. >> i can't imagine seats or aisles being smaller than they are today. >> now, the federal aviation administration is considering whether to stop airlines from making seats smaller. they are under a mandate to see whether seat size could slow an evacuation. but many focused on comfort. >> the idea is that the more people you can jam into a plane the more money you'll make. >> flyers rights president, paul hudson, said airlines are trying to squeeze out more profit. six senators told the faa to act urgently and not wait for the seats to get smaller. so i decided to put them to the test. >> two things. a ticket and tape measure. >> reporter: on this united airlines flight, legroom was right at the industry standard, 30 inches. but it all depends on the airline. legroom can get even tighter on ultra low cost carriers. 27 inches is what we saw on this allegiant flight. seats that are wider would ma

cnn's pete muntean has that story. >> reporter: boris, sara, we're in a short-lived air travel lull, it's all about to come roaring back on sunday when everyone comes home all at once. the tsa screening 1.4 million people nationwide on thanksgiving day, the lowest number that we've seen since february. look at the day before, the tsa screened 2.46 million people nationwide. that number only 6% up of what we saw back in 2019 and just shy of a pandemic era air travel record. now, the big question is whether or not sunday will hit a new pandemic era air travel record and whether it will be all time air travel record of 2.88 million people screened by tsa on the sunday after thanksgiving on 2019. i ask the tsa administrator if it's a real possibility this time around. >> this holiday travel period is the biggest since the pandemic. prepandemic, on the sunday following thanksgiving, almost 3 million passengers. we'll be pretty close to that this sunday following thanksgiving. >> reporter: these numbers are so important because of the all of the uncertainty that airlines and passengers fac

. >> pete muntean, i thank you and our knees thank you. >>> tonight jake tapper is interviewing actress kerry washington at 9:00 eastern, and then chairman ron mcdaniel and amy klobuchar from-minute is sunday night at 9:00 eastern and again at noon. our coverage continues in "the situation room." >>> happening now, we're heading into the final weekend of the midterm campaigns. the elections now just four days out, as candidates from both parties make their final pitch to voters. >> also tonight, the u.s. economy the top issue for most americans, is getting one more gut check before the midterms. the labor department reporting 261,000 jobs added during the month of october. >> we're also watching former president trump, who now says he's very, very, very, probably going to run for the white house in 2024. >> there are new indications the announcement could come soon after the midterm elections. >>> welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. wolf blitzer is off today. i'm brianna keilar, and you're in "the situation room." >>> our top story tonight, the midterm camp

pete muntean live at the crash site. how lucky are the people on board that plane?better lucky than good. they were lucky in this case. that 65-year-old man and 65-year-old woman on board the single engine moony, it is a four seater. it got caught up in the power transmission pole and they had to wait there for seven hours to be exact. as fire crews and ground crews from power provider pep ko used a bucket truck, a cherry picker to try to get up to them and do this very successful but very delicate rescue. this was not an easy job. they had to communicate with the people on board the plane via cell phone. i want to you listen to one the hundred firefighters on scene here who described this very tricky situation to get these two people out of that plane, one by one, and back on to the ground. >> one of our concerns is the safety of the occupants in the airplane, the safety of the fire rescue personnel and the rescue thereof. we are taking measured and risk balanced steps to approach this activity and we'll be doing this in a manner in which we will aim to extricate t

pete muntean, thank you so much for that report. i'm brianna keilar in "the situation room." "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. ♪ >>> "outfront" next, markets plummet after protests spread in china. and tonight the country going to new extremes to censor what the chinese people are seeing. is a brutal crackdown coming? we're live in beijing tonight. >>> plus, election deniers lining up one by one saying they should be punished by death for certifying a state's election. >>> an "outfront" exclusive tonight, hear from a russian woman standing up against putin's war, and now leading the charge to demand russia pull out of ukraine. let's go "outfront." >>> good evening. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, markets plunge worldwide. the reason, widespread protests in china against xi jinping's covid lockdowns, sparking fear across the world, sending stocks lower. the dow sank 500 points this afternoon. the uprisings in cities across china are on a scale not seen since the at the enan men square protests. you are seeing just six of the nearly dozen city as cross china we kn

pete muntean has the story. >> reporter: boris, sara we're in a short air travel lull but it's goingme roaring back on sunday when everybody comes home all at once. the tsa 1.4 million people in airports nationwide since february. look at the day before, tsa screened 2.6 million people, that number only 6% up what we saw in the same day in 2019. and just shy of a pandemic-era air travel record. and the new question is whether sunday we'll hit a pandemic-era air travel record. and hits record of 2.88 since sunday 2019. i asked the tsa administrator if it's a possibility. >> this holiday travel is the biggest holiday travel since prepandemic. prepandemic, on the sunday following thanksgiving, almost 3 million passengers, we'll be pretty close to that this sunday. >> reporter: these numbers are so important because of all of the uncertainty that airlines and passengers face over the summertime. when airlines cancelled a total of 50,000 flights compounded by staff shortages and bad weather, this time around, weather has been pretty good. airlines have been on a hiring blitz. in fact, on

cnn aviation correspondent pete muntean is at reagan international airport.pared to other years? >> reporter: alex, we are in a short-lived air travel lull but it's all about to come roaring back the sunday after thanksgiving when everybody begins coming home all at once. the tsa screened 1.4 million people at airports across the city on thanksgiving day. that's the lowest number since february. the day before 2.4 million people screened. the number only 6% off of the same day in 2019 before the pandemic and just shy of a pandemic-era record. will sunday hit a record and could it hit the all-time air travel record when the tsa screened 2.88 million people at airports nationwide the sunday after thanksgiving, back in 2019. i asked tsa administrator if that's a real possibility this time around. >> this holiday travel period will be the biggest, we think, since the pandemic. so pre-pandemic on the sunday following thanksgiving, almost 3 million passengers. we'll be pretty close to that the sunday following this thanksgiving. >> reporter: these numbers are so im

pete muntean is live at reagan national airport for more on this. what are you learning?eresting because it all happened on frontier airlines on friday. the big question is how did the box cutters get through tsa in the first place. they are admitting to some really big failures. this man who has not been identified came through security at the cincinnati northern kentucky international airport. they have reviewed the tape there. the tsa says he showed up with a temporary driver ice lee sense. he put 2two bags through screening and the box cutters were not observed. one of the officers found one of these box cutters and handed it back to this man. that's against the tsa's own procedures. a lot of big questions about that. then the tsa says the second box cutter was simply not discovered. i want you to listen to passengers who were on this frontier airmens flight, and they describe a pretty terrifying scene when this man started making threats with a knife. >> when he went to go to the bathroom, the passenger in the window seat looked at me and said, hey, like he has a kni

pete muntean, thank you for the reporting. >>> this is a live look right now at arlington national cemetery on this veterans day. thank you to all who have served and all who sacrificed because of you, we get to vote in free and fair elections. and now, we have to figure out who won in these free and fair elections that just happened. control of congress still undecided this morning with more than 500,000 votes left to be counted. >> taking a look at arizona, the senate race there, dem mark kelly has widened his lead over republican blake masters. agency many as 350,000 ballots still have been calculated in maricopa county along. and in nevada where democrat catherine cortez masto is closing the gap on adam laxalt. a trump-backed candidate. if they win, they coal the senate. >> but if the party split nevada, the georgia senate race is going to decide the balance of power in a runoff next month. most of you may be moving on from election day, not so in georgia. it seems like groundhog day the state is running through its third runoff contest in less than two years. herschel walker and raphae