USA Banner

Official US Government Icon

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure Site Icon

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

September 2023 U.S. Airline Traffic Data Up 6.8% from the Same Month Last Year

Thursday, December 14, 2023

BTS 57-23

 

September 2023 Air Traffic Infographic

 

U.S. airlines carried 76.3 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in September 2023, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). When adjusted for seasonality, September enplanements are up 2.6% from August and down 1.4% from the all-time high reached in January 2020.

BTS reported 66.9 million domestic passengers and 9.4 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in September, not adjusting for seasonality.

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

September seasonally-adjusted:

  • Systemwide enplanements (79.7M) were down 1.4% from the all-time high of 80.8 million reached in January 2020.
  • Domestic enplanements (69.1M) were down 2.6% from the all-time high of 71.0 million reached in January 2020.
  • International enplanements (10.6M) reached a new all-time, seasonally-adjusted, high based on data through September 2023. 

September unadjusted:

  • Systemwide enplanements (76.3M) reached a new all-time high for the month of September.
  • Domestic enplanements (66.9M) reached a new all-time high for the month of September.
  • International enplanements (9.4M) reached a new all-time high for the month of September.
     

Line chart showing monthly passengers on U.S. scheduled airlines in September 2020 through September 2023

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

September

79.7

2.6%

7.9%

199.1%

 

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

September

76.3

6.8%

29.8%

201.8%


For data filed through September, 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 December 6 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations. 

See the BTS Airlines and Airports page for additional scheduled service numbers through September for U.S. airlines. International data by origin and destination is available through June. 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 January 11 for the release of data through October.

None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.

Missing carriers: 3E, (Multi-Aero) have not reported for September. 2HQ (Elite) authority suspended and canceled.