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

U.S. Cargo and Passenger Airlines Gained 8,212 Jobs in September 2026

Monday, November 9, 2026

BTS 26-81

This release is published on a fixed schedule as required by the Office of Management and Budget, and statistics in this release may be revised when inputs to the statistics are corrected or updated. Data on the program page of this website are the most up-to-date and complete.

Note: Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have merged and employment from both companies is now reported solely under Alaska Airlines. Hawaiian Airlines no longer reports separate employment numbers.

This Summary Infographic shows the Numbers of Employees in the U.S. Airline Industry in September 2026. The infographic contains four boxes. The two boxes on the left show the Numbers of Employees in the U.S. Airline Industry. The two boxes on the right show the percentage change in numbers of employees from the previous month.2 The top boxes show the Total Number of Employees in U.S. Airline Industry in September 2026 is 1,047,112, and 0.8% higher than the previous month.

U.S. Airlines: Total Number of Employees (both Full-Time and Part-Time)

U.S. airline industry (passenger and cargo airlines combined) employment increased to 1,047,112 workers in September 2026, 8,212 (0.79%) more workers than in August 2026 (1,038,900).

U.S. scheduled-service passenger airlines employed 554,502 workers in September 2026, or 53% of the industry-wide total. Passenger airlines gained 591 employees in September 2026. American Airlines Inc. led scheduled passenger carriers, adding 374 employees; United Air Lines Inc. added 219, and SkyWest Airlines Inc. added 186.

U.S. cargo airlines employed 488,248 workers in September 2026, or 47% of the industry-wide total. Cargo carriers gained 7,730 employees in September. FedEx, the leading air cargo employer, increased employment by 7,758 jobs.
 

This 2-D line chart1 illustrates Total U.S. airline industry employment by time. The x-axis represents time on a scale from September-2024 to September-2026, and the y-axis represents total U.S. Airline Industry Employment (including full-time and part-time employees).2 In this two year time frame, February-2025 had the lowest employment at 1,004K. The highest peak was seen in November-2025 at 1,071K.

Scheduled passenger airlines gained 821 full-time equivalents in September 2026.

U.S. Airline Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs)

BTS calculates FTEs by dividing the number of part-time employees by 2 and adding that figure to the number of full-time employees. The September 2026 industry-wide numbers include 747,753 full-time and 299,359 part-time workers for a total of 897,433 FTEs, an increase from August of 4,507 FTEs (0.50%).

The 24 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reporting data for September 2026 employed 524,125 FTEs, 821 FTEs (0.16%) more than in August 2026. Data by passenger carrier category can be found in the accompanying tables.

U.S. cargo airlines employed 369,029 FTEs in September 2026, up 3,791 FTEs (1.04%) from August 2026.
 

This 2-D line chart1 illustrates Employees (Full Time Equivalent) at U.S. Scheduled Passenger Airlines in the Month of August by year. The x-axis represents time on a scale from 1990 to 2026, and the y-axis represents Full Time Equivalent Employees at U.S. Scheduled Passenger Airlines.2 During this time, the range of the employment is from the lowest value of 378K in 2010 to the highest value (525K) in 2000. In 1990, the employment is 466K and 524K in 2026.3,4,5

Reporting Notes

Data is compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers as of November 5, 2026. Additional airline employment data and previous releases can be found on the BTS website. The month-to-month numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

Passenger, cargo, and charter airlines that operate at least one aircraft that has more than 60 seats or the capacity to carry a payload of passengers, cargo, and fuel weighing more than 18,000 pounds must report monthly employment statistics. Regulations require U.S. airlines to report employment numbers for employees who worked or received pay for any part of the pay period(s) ending nearest the 15th day of the month.

See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for detailed data (Tables 1-15) and industry summary monthly data since 1990. Additional individual airline numbers are available on the BTS airline employment web page. The web page provides full-time and part-time employment numbers by carrier by month from 1990 through September 2026.

Missing Carriers: Silver Air (3EQ)

The next update for U.S. airline employment is scheduled for Friday, December 11, 2026.

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