Estimated May 2019 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
U.S. airlines carried an estimated 77.4 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in May 2019, seasonally-adjusted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS) first estimate, up 0.2% from the April second estimate.
The BTS estimate of the May enplanement total of 77.4 million was down 0.2% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 77.6 million reached in March 2019.
BTS estimated 67.7 million domestic passengers and 9.7 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in May.
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.
This release is a statistical estimate based on U.S. airlines reported data through March. BTS will release a second estimate of U.S. airlines May air traffic on July 12, followed by a release of the reported data on Aug 15.
"Figure 1. Monthly Passengers on U.S. Scheduled Airlines (Domestic + International), Seasonally Adjusted May 2016 - May 2019 (April 2019-May 2019 estimated)
| Passengers in millions (Seasonally Adjusted) | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| May-16 | 68.6 | 2 |
| Jun-16 | 68.8 | 3 |
| Jul-16 | 68.1 | 4 |
| Aug-16 | 67.9 | 5 |
| Sep-16 | 69.6 | 6 |
| Oct-16 | 69.2 | 7 |
| Nov-16 | 69.6 | 8 |
| Dec-16 | 69.6 | 9 |
| Jan-17 | 70.0 | 10 |
| Feb-17 | 69.8 | 11 |
| Mar-17 | 70.1 | 12 |
| Apr-17 | 70.4 | 13 |
| May-17 | 70.8 | 14 |
| Jun-17 | 70.7 | 15 |
| Jul-17 | 71.4 | 16 |
| Aug-17 | 71.2 | 17 |
| Sep-17 | 68.6 | 18 |
| Oct-17 | 72.0 | 19 |
| Nov-17 | 72.3 | 20 |
| Dec-17 | 72.2 | 21 |
| Jan-18 | 72.1 | 22 |
| Feb-18 | 73.3 | 23 |
| Mar-18 | 73.4 | 24 |
| Apr-18 | 73.9 | 25 |
| May-18 | 74.0 | 26 |
| Jun-18 | 75.1 | 27 |
| Jul-18 | 75.2 | 28 |
| Aug-18 | 74.7 | 29 |
| Sep-18 | 72.7 | 30 |
| Oct-18 | 75.0 | 31 |
| Nov-18 | 75.0 | 32 |
| Dec-18 | 75.4 | 33 |
| Jan-19 | 74.1 | 34 |
| Feb-19 | 75.2 | 35 |
| Mar-19 | 77.6 | 36 |
| Apr-19 | 77.3 | 37 |
| May-19 | 77.4 | 38 |
| 39 |
Four measures of U.S. airlines passenger enplanements
Estimated May seasonally adjusted
- System-wide enplanements were down 0.2% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 77.6 million reached in March 2019.
- Domestic enplanements were down 0.4% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 68.0 million reached in March 2019.
- International enplanements reached a new all-time, seasonally-adjusted, high based on the estimate compared to reported through March and estimate for May.
Reported March seasonally adjusted
- System-wide enplanements (77.6M) were up 2.9% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 75.4 million reached in December 2018.
- Domestic enplanements (68.0M) were up 3% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 66.0 million reached in December 2018.
- International enplanements (9.6M) were up 1.5% from the all-time, seasonally-adjusted, reported high of 9.46 million reached in February 2019.
Estimated May unadjusted
- Systemwide, domestic, and international enplanements reached a new estimated all-time high for the month of May.
Reported March unadjusted
- Systemwide enplanements (80.1M) reached a new reported all-time high for the month of March.
- Domestic enplanements (70.1M) reached a new reported all-time high for the month of March.
- International enplanements (9.96M) reached a new reported all-time high for the month of March.
Table A. Seasonally Adjusted Estimated and Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods, May Estimate
| Seasonally Adjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Month | Previous Year | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| May estimate | 77.4 | 0.2% | 4.6% | 12.9% | 3 |
| March reported | 77.6 | 3.1% | 5.7% | 15.3% | 4 |
| 5 |
Table B. Unadjusted Estimated and Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods, May Estimate
| Unadjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Year | Two Years Previous | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| May estimate | 81.2 | 5.1% | 10.2% | 13.6% | 3 |
| March reported | 80.1 | 5.0% | 9.8% | 13.5% | 4 |
| 5 |
For the April and May estimates and for data filed through March, 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 enplanements, 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 77 U.S. carriers as of June 4 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations.
See the BTS Airlines and Airports page for additional scheduled service numbers through March for U.S. airlines. International data by origin and destination is available through September.
BTS has scheduled July 12 for the release of the first estimate of June air traffic data, the second estimate of May air traffic data and reported data through April.
None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.