November 2020 U.S. Airline Traffic Data


U.S. airlines carried 13% more cargo by weight in October 2020 (preliminary) than in October 2019. The rise was fueled by gains of 14% in domestic cargo and 9% in international cargo, according to data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by 14 of the leading U.S. cargo airlines.
The 14 airlines carry 95% of the total cargo by weight on U.S. airlines. Cargo data consists of freight and mail carried within the U.S. and between the U.S. and foreign points.
U.S. airlines carried 27.1 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in September 2020, seasonally-adjusted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), up 14.1% from August.
BTS reported 25.5 million domestic passengers and 1.6 million international passengers on U.S. airlines’ flights in September.
U.S. airlines carried 62% fewer scheduled service passengers in October 2020 than in October 2019 (preliminary), according to data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by 22 airlines that carry more than 90% of the passengers. The 62% decline from October 2019 was the smallest year-to-year decrease since March.
The large airlines carried 29.9 million passengers in October 2020 (preliminary), compared to 78.3 million passengers in October 2019 and up from 3.0 million in April 2020, which was the lowest monthly total in BTS records dating back to 1974. The previous low was 14.6 million passengers in February 1975.
U.S. airlines carried 23.7 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in August 2020, seasonally-adjusted, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS), up 11.8% from July.
BTS is withholding the scheduled release of estimated traffic data for September and October because the statistical forecasts are based on previous trends and do not account for the impact of the coronavirus.