February 2021 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
U.S. airlines carried 31.8 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in February 2021, seasonally adjusted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), up 3.3% from January.
BTS reported 29.2 million domestic passengers and 2.6 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in February.
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 February 2018 - February 2021
| Passengers in millions (Seasonally adjusted) | |
|---|---|
| Feb-18 | 73.75 |
| Mar-18 | 72.92 |
| Apr-18 | 73.87 |
| May-18 | 73.73 |
| Jun-18 | 74.45 |
| Jul-18 | 74.47 |
| Aug-18 | 74.24 |
| Sep-18 | 73.87 |
| Oct-18 | 75.02 |
| Nov-18 | 74.86 |
| Dec-18 | 75.83 |
| Jan-19 | 75.12 |
| Feb-19 | 75.93 |
| Mar-19 | 77.01 |
| Apr-19 | 76.60 |
| May-19 | 76.94 |
| Jun-19 | 77.37 |
| Jul-19 | 77.39 |
| Aug-19 | 77.39 |
| Sep-19 | 77.88 |
| Oct-19 | 77.66 |
| Nov-19 | 79.01 |
| Dec-19 | 78.79 |
| Jan-20 | 79.78 |
| Feb-20 | 78.73 |
| Mar-20 | 37.67 |
| Apr-20 | 3.00 |
| May-20 | 8.02 |
| Jun-20 | 15.35 |
| Jul-20 | 21.22 |
| Aug-20 | 23.74 |
| Sep-20 | 27.07 |
| Oct-20 | 29.43 |
| Nov-20 | 29.73 |
| Dec-20 | 31.13 |
| Jan-21 | 30.76 |
| Feb-21 | 31.77 |
Two measures of U.S. airlines passenger enplanements
February seasonally adjusted
- Systemwide enplanements (31.8M) were down 60.2% from the all-time high of 79.8 million reached in January 2020.
- Domestic enplanements (29.2M) were down 58.3% from the all-time high of 70.0 million reached in January 2020.
- International enplanements (2.56M) were down 73.9% from the all-time high of 9.79 million reached in January 2020.
February unadjusted
- Systemwide enplanements (26.6M) were down 60.8% from the all-time February high (67.8) reached in 2020 and down 2.5% from January 2021 (27.3M).
- Domestic enplanements (24.5M) were down 59.1% from the all-time February high (59.9) reached in 2020 and up 0.7% from January 2021 (24.3M).
- International enplanements (2.12M) were down 73.3% from the all-time February high (8.0) reached in 2020 and down 29% from January 2021 (3.0M).
| Table A. Seasonally Adjusted Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods | ||||
| Seasonally Adjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | ||
| Previous Month | Previous Year | Three Years Previous | ||
| February | 31.8 | 3.3% | -59.7% | -56.9 |
| Table B. Unadjusted Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods | ||||
| Unadjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | ||
| Previous Year | Two Years Previous | Three Years Previous | ||
| February | 26.6 | -60.8% | -58.2% | -56.9% |
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.
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 65 U.S. carriers as of May 4 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 10 for the release of data through March.
None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.