April 2020 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
U.S. airlines carried 2.9 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in April 2020, seasonally-adjusted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS), down 92.2% from March.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) is withholding the scheduled release of estimated U.S. airlines’ traffic data for May and June because the estimates are statistical forecasts based on previous trends. The estimates do not account for the impact of the coronavirus.
BTS reported 2.6 million domestic passengers and 0.2 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in April.
Figure 1. Monthly Passengers on U.S. Scheduled Airlines (Domestic + International), Seasonally Adjusted, Apr 2017 - Apr 2020
| Passengers in millions (Seasonally Adjusted) | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Apr-17 | 70.5 | 2 |
| May-17 | 70.7 | 3 |
| Jun-17 | 70.4 | 4 |
| Jul-17 | 71.2 | 5 |
| Aug-17 | 71.2 | 6 |
| Sep-17 | 69.2 | 7 |
| Oct-17 | 72.0 | 8 |
| Nov-17 | 72.3 | 9 |
| Dec-17 | 72.2 | 10 |
| Jan-18 | 72.3 | 11 |
| Feb-18 | 73.5 | 12 |
| Mar-18 | 73.3 | 13 |
| Apr-18 | 74.0 | 14 |
| May-18 | 73.8 | 15 |
| Jun-18 | 74.6 | 16 |
| Jul-18 | 74.8 | 17 |
| Aug-18 | 74.6 | 18 |
| Sep-18 | 73.4 | 19 |
| Oct-18 | 75.0 | 20 |
| Nov-18 | 74.9 | 21 |
| Dec-18 | 75.3 | 22 |
| Jan-19 | 74.7 | 23 |
| Feb-19 | 75.5 | 24 |
| Mar-19 | 77.5 | 25 |
| Apr-19 | 76.7 | 26 |
| May-19 | 77.3 | 27 |
| Jun-19 | 77.6 | 28 |
| Jul-19 | 77.9 | 29 |
| Aug-19 | 77.8 | 30 |
| Sep-19 | 77.2 | 31 |
| Oct-19 | 77.8 | 32 |
| Nov-19 | 78.3 | 33 |
| Dec-19 | 78.9 | 34 |
| Jan-20 | 78.7 | 35 |
| Feb-20 | 78.3 | 36 |
| Mar-20 | 36.6 | 37 |
| Apr-20 | 2.9 | 38 |
| 39 |
U.S. airline traffic reports are filed monthly with BTS. See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for summary data since 2016 (Tables 1-24) and complete data since 2000.
Two measures of U.S. airlines passenger enplanements
April seasonally adjusted
- System-wide enplanements (2.9M) were down 96.4% from the all-time high of 78.9 million reached in December 2019.
- Domestic enplanements (2.6M) were down 96.2% from the all-time high of 69.3 million reached in December 2019.
- International enplanements (0.23M) were down 97.6% from the all-time high of 9.68 million reached in December 2019.
April unadjusted
- System-wide enplanements (3M) were down 96.1% from the all-time April high (76.4) reached in 2019.
- Domestic enplanements (2.9M) were down 95.7% from the all-time April high (66.9) reached in 2019.
- International enplanements (0.13M) were down 98.6% from the all-time April high (9.5) reached in 2019.
| Seasonally Adjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Previous Month | Previous Year | Three Years Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 2.9 | -92.2% | -96.3% | -95.9% |
| Unadjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Previous Year | Two Years Previous | Three Years Previos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 3.0 | -96.1% | -95.9% | -95.7% |
For data filed through April, see accompanying tables. For the complete database of reported data, see Traffic. For an explanation of BTS’ seasonal adjustment methodology, see Seasonal Adjustment.
Reporting Notes
Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial U.S. air carriers detailing operations, passenger traffic and freight traffic. This release includes data received by BTS from 62 U.S. carriers as of July 7 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations.
See the BTS Airlines and Airports page for additional scheduled service numbers through April for U.S. airlines. International data by origin and destination is available through January.
BTS has scheduled Aug. 13 for the release of data through May.
None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.