March 2020 U.S. Airline Traffic Data (Final)
U.S. airlines carried 36.6 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in March 2020, seasonally-adjusted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS), down 53.2% from February.
BTS is withholding the scheduled release of estimated U.S. airlines’ traffic data for April and May because the estimates are statistical forecasts based on previous trends. The estimates do not account for the coronavirus.
U.S. airlines carried 32.3 million domestic passengers and 4.4 million international passengers in March, seasonally-adjusted.
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, Mar 2017 - Mar 2020
| Passengers in millions (Seasonally Adjusted) | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mar-17 | 70.0 | 2 |
| Apr-17 | 70.5 | 3 |
| May-17 | 70.7 | 4 |
| Jun-17 | 70.5 | 5 |
| Jul-17 | 71.1 | 6 |
| Aug-17 | 71.1 | 7 |
| Sep-17 | 69.2 | 8 |
| Oct-17 | 72.0 | 9 |
| Nov-17 | 72.3 | 10 |
| Dec-17 | 72.2 | 11 |
| Jan-18 | 72.3 | 12 |
| Feb-18 | 73.5 | 13 |
| Mar-18 | 73.3 | 14 |
| Apr-18 | 74.0 | 15 |
| May-18 | 73.8 | 16 |
| Jun-18 | 74.7 | 17 |
| Jul-18 | 74.8 | 18 |
| Aug-18 | 74.6 | 19 |
| Sep-18 | 73.4 | 20 |
| Oct-18 | 75.0 | 21 |
| Nov-18 | 74.9 | 22 |
| Dec-18 | 75.3 | 23 |
| Jan-19 | 74.7 | 24 |
| Feb-19 | 75.5 | 25 |
| Mar-19 | 77.5 | 26 |
| Apr-19 | 76.7 | 27 |
| May-19 | 77.3 | 28 |
| Jun-19 | 77.8 | 29 |
| Jul-19 | 77.9 | 30 |
| Aug-19 | 77.7 | 31 |
| Sep-19 | 77.2 | 32 |
| Oct-19 | 77.8 | 33 |
| Nov-19 | 78.3 | 34 |
| Dec-19 | 79.0 | 35 |
| Jan-20 | 78.7 | 36 |
| Feb-20 | 78.3 | 37 |
| Mar-20 | 36.6 | 38 |
| 39 |
Two measures of U.S. airlines passenger enplanements
March seasonally-adjusted
- System-wide enplanements (36.6M) were down 53.6% from the all-time high of 79.0 million reached in December 2019.
- Domestic enplanements (32.3M) were down 53.4% from the all-time high of 69.3 million reached in December 2019.
- International enplanements (4.36M) were down 55.2% from the all-time, high of 9.74 million reached in June 2019.
March (actual) unadjusted
- Systemwide enplanements (39.1M) were down 51.3% from the all-time March high (80.2 million) reached in 2019.
- Domestic enplanements (34.4M) were down 51.0% from the all-time March high (70.2 million) reached in 2019.
- International enplanements (4.65M) were down 53.4% from the all-time March high (9.9 million) reached in 2019.
Table A. Seasonally Adjusted Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods, March 2020
| Seasonally Adjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Month | Previous Year | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| March reported | 36.6 | -53.2% | -52.8% | -47.7% | 3 |
| 4 |
Table B. Unadjusted Reported Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods, March 2020
| Unadjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Percent Change Compared to | 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Year | Two Years Previous | Three Years Previous | 2 | ||
| March reported | 39.1 | -51.3% | -48.8% | -46.5% | 3 |
| 4 |
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.
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 70 U.S. carriers as of June 2 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 December.
BTS has scheduled July 16 for release of data through April.
None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.