October 2021 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
BTS 03-22
U.S. airlines carried 65.1 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in October 2021, seasonally-adjusted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS), up 3.7% from September.
BTS reported 59.3 million domestic passengers and 5.8 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in October.
Figure 1. Monthly Passengers on U.S. Scheduled Airlines (Domestic + International), Seasonally Adjusted October 2016 - October 2021
| Date | Enplanements |
|---|---|
| Sep-18 | 73.94 |
| Oct-18 | 74.86 |
| Nov-18 | 74.98 |
| Dec-18 | 75.83 |
| Jan-19 | 75.39 |
| Feb-19 | 76.17 |
| Mar-19 | 77.09 |
| Apr-19 | 76.86 |
| May-19 | 76.66 |
| Jun-19 | 76.94 |
| Jul-19 | 76.86 |
| Aug-19 | 77.77 |
| Sep-19 | 78.04 |
| Oct-19 | 77.43 |
| Nov-19 | 79.17 |
| Dec-19 | 78.84 |
| Jan-20 | 80.21 |
| Feb-20 | 78.98 |
| Mar-20 | 37.70 |
| Apr-20 | 3.01 |
| May-20 | 7.61 |
| Jun-20 | 15.24 |
| Jul-20 | 21.10 |
| Aug-20 | 23.92 |
| Sep-20 | 27.14 |
| Oct-20 | 29.32 |
| Nov-20 | 29.84 |
| Dec-20 | 31.16 |
| Jan-21 | 30.91 |
| Feb-21 | 31.84 |
| Mar-21 | 41.35 |
| Apr-21 | 47.38 |
| May-21 | 55.02 |
| Jun-21 | 60.42 |
| Jul-21 | 64.64 |
| Aug-21 | 62.87 |
| Sep-21 | 62.78 |
| Oct-21 | 65.8 |
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.
Two measures of U.S. airlines passenger enplanements
October seasonally adjusted
- System-wide enplanements (65.1M) were down 18.8% from the all-time high of 80.1 million reached in January 2020.
- Domestic enplanements (59.3M) were down 15.7% from the all-time high of 70.4 million reached in January 2020.
- International enplanements (5.78M) were down 40.7% from the all-time high of 9.74 million reached in January 2020.
October unadjusted
- Systemwide enplanements (65.8M) were down 16.3% from the all-time October high (78.6) reached in 2019.
- Domestic enplanements (60.5M) were down 13.5% from the all-time October high (69.9) reached in 2019.
- International enplanements (5.36M) were down 38.3% from the all-time October high (8.7) reached in 2019.
Comparisons to Previous Time Periods
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 |
||
|
October |
65.1 |
3.7% |
120.0% |
-13.4% |
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 |
||
|
October |
65.8 |
119.3% |
-16.3% |
-12.8% |
For data filed through October, 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 77 U.S. carriers as of Jan. 7 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations.
See the BTS Airlines and Airports page for additional scheduled service numbers through October for U.S. airlines. International data by origin and destination is available through July. International totals in this press release consist of all U.S. carrier operations to and from the U.S. and from one foreign point to another foreign point. BTS’ Airlines and Airports page does not include U.S. carriers’ foreign point-to-point flights.
BTS has scheduled Feb. 10 for the release of data through November.
None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.