May 2020 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
U.S. airlines carried 8.4 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in May 2020, unadjusted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS), down 89.6% from May 2019.
Figure 1. Monthly Passengers on U.S. Scheduled Airlines (Domestic + International) May 2017 - May 2020
| Passengers in millions (Unadjusted) | 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May-17 | 73.7 | 2 | |||
| Jun-17 | 77.0 | 3 | |||
| Jul-17 | 79.8 | 4 | |||
| Aug-17 | 77.1 | 5 |
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) is withholding the scheduled release of estimated U.S. airlines’ traffic data for June and July because the estimates are statistical forecasts based on previous trends. The estimates do not account for the impact of the coronavirus. BTS additionally is withholding the seasonally-adjusted numbers due to the unprecedented decline in air traffic.
BTS reported 8.2 million domestic passengers and 0.2 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 1-12) and complete data since 2000.
May unadjusted
- Systemwide enplanements (8.4M) were down 89.6% from the all-time May high (81.3M) reached in 2019.
- Domestic enplanements (8.2M) were down 88.5% from the all-time May high (71.4M) reached in 2019.
- International enplanements (0.19M) were down 98.1% from the all-time May high (10.0M) reached in 2019.
Table A. Unadjusted Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods
Percent Change Compared to
Unadjusted | Passengers (in millions) | Previous Year | Two Years Previous | Three Years Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 8.4 | -89.6% | -89.1% | -88.6% |
For data filed through May, 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 63 U.S. carriers as of Aug. 3 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations.
See the BTS Airlines and Airports page for additional scheduled service numbers through May for U.S. airlines. International data by origin and destination is available through February.
BTS has scheduled Sept. 11 for the release of data through June.
None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.