Estimated April 2019 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
U.S. airlines carried an estimated 75.3 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in April 2019, seasonally-adjusted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) first estimate, up 0.3% from the March second estimate.
The BTS estimate of the April enplanement total of 75.3 million was down 0.6% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 75.8 million reached in July 2018.
BTS estimated 65.8 million domestic passengers and 9.5 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in April.
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.
Figure 1. Monthly Passengers on U.S. Scheduled Airlines (Domestic + International), Seasonally Adjusted, April 2016 - April 2019 (March 2019-April 2019 estimated)
| Passengers in millions (Seasonally Adjusted) | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Apr-16 | 67.9 | 2 |
| May-16 | 68.6 | 3 |
| Jun-16 | 68.8 | 4 |
| Jul-16 | 68.5 | 5 |
| Aug-16 | 67.9 | 6 |
| Sep-16 | 69.4 | 7 |
| Oct-16 | 69.2 | 8 |
| Nov-16 | 69.5 | 9 |
| Dec-16 | 69.6 | 10 |
| Jan-17 | 70.0 | 11 |
| Feb-17 | 69.7 | 12 |
| Mar-17 | 70.1 | 13 |
| Apr-17 | 70.4 | 14 |
| May-17 | 70.8 | 15 |
| Jun-17 | 70.7 | 16 |
| Jul-17 | 71.9 | 17 |
| Aug-17 | 71.2 | 18 |
| Sep-17 | 68.4 | 19 |
| Oct-17 | 72.0 | 20 |
| Nov-17 | 72.3 | 21 |
| Dec-17 | 72.2 | 22 |
| Jan-18 | 72.1 | 23 |
| Feb-18 | 73.1 | 24 |
| Mar-18 | 73.4 | 25 |
| Apr-18 | 74.0 | 26 |
| May-18 | 74.0 | 27 |
| Jun-18 | 75.0 | 28 |
| Jul-18 | 75.8 | 29 |
| Aug-18 | 74.6 | 30 |
| Sep-18 | 72.5 | 31 |
| Oct-18 | 74.9 | 32 |
| Nov-18 | 74.9 | 33 |
| Dec-18 | 75.3 | 34 |
| Jan-19 | 74.1 | 35 |
| Feb-19 | 75.0 | 36 |
| Mar-19 | 75.1 | 37 |
| Apr-19 | 75.3 | 38 |
| 39 |
Most recent two months estimated
This release is a statistical estimate based on U.S. airlines reported data through February. BTS will release a second estimate of U.S. airlines April air traffic on June 13, followed by a release of the reported data on July 11.
Four measures of U.S. airlines passenger enplanements
Estimated April seasonally adjusted
- System-wide enplanements were down 0.6% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 75.8 million reached in July 2018.
- Domestic enplanements were down 0.9% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 66.4 million reached in July 2018.
- International enplanements reached a new all-time, seasonally-adjusted, high based on the estimate compared to reported data through February and estimate for March.
Reported February seasonally adjusted
- System-wide enplanements (75.0M) were down 1.0% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 75.8 million reached in July 2018.
- Domestic enplanements (65.6M) were down 1.3% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 66.4 million reached in July 2018.
- International enplanements (9.41M) were down 0.04% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 9.42 million reached in June 2018.
Estimated April unadjusted
- Systemwide enplanements reached a new estimated all-time high for the month of April.
- Domestic enplanements reached a new estimated all-time high for the month of April.
- International enplanements reached a new estimated all-time high for the month of April.
Reported February unadjusted
- Systemwide, domestic, and international enplanements all reached all-time highs for the month of February.
Table A. Seasonally Adjusted Estimated and Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods, April Estimate
| Seasonally Adjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Month | Previous Year | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| April estimate | 75.3 | 0.3% | 1.8% | 10.9% | 3 |
| February reported | 75.0 | 1.3% | 2.5% | 10.6% | 4 |
| 5 |
Table B. Unadjusted Estimated and Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods, April Estimate
| Unadjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Year | Two Years Previous | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| April estimate | 75.2 | 2.1% | 7.0% | 11.8% | 3 |
| February reported | 63.5 | 2.9% | 8.8% | 8.6% | 4 |
| 5 |
For the March and April estimates and for data filed through February, see accompanying tables. For the complete database of reported data, see Traffic. For an explanation of BTS’ seasonal adjustment methodology, see Seasonal Adjustment.
BTS Estimates
For seasonally-adjusted passenger numbers, BTS first estimates have averaged within 0.8% of reported data while second estimates have averaged within 0.6% of reported data.
For unadjusted passenger numbers, BTS first estimates have averaged within 1.0% of reported data while second estimates have averaged within 0.7% of reported data.
For an explanation of BTS’ estimate methodology see Air Traffic Methodology.
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 75 U.S. carriers as of May 7 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations.
See the BTS Airlines and Airports page for additional scheduled service numbers through February for U.S. airlines. International data by origin and destination is available through November.
BTS has scheduled June 13 for the release of the first estimate of May air traffic data, the second estimate of April air traffic data and reported data through March.
None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.