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Preliminary Air Traffic Data, March 2020: 50% Reduction in U.S. Airline Passengers

U.S. airlines carried 51% fewer scheduled service passengers in March 2020 than in March 2019, according to preliminary data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by 24 airlines that carry 99% of the passengers, dropping to the lowest level of air travel in almost than two decades.

 

The 51% decline in the number of passengers from March 2019 was the largest year-to-year decrease on record.

 

The airlines carried slightly more total, domestic and international passengers in March 2020 than in September 2001, the month of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

2019 Annual and 4th Quarter U.S. Airline Financial Data

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reported a 2019 after-tax net profit of $14.8 billion, the 7th consecutive annual after-tax profit and a pre-tax operating profit of $20.8 billion, the 11th consecutive annual pre-tax profit.

 

U.S. airline financial reports are filed quarterly with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for additional 2019 annual (Tables 1-6) and fourth-quarter (Tables 7-12) financial results.

Air Cargo Between the U.S. and World Regions, including China, February 2020 (Preliminary)

Airlines carried 7.3% less cargo by weight between the U.S. and foreign points in February 2020 than in February 2019, according to data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by large air carriers.

 

February 2020 cargo numbers by world geographic regions (by weight):

  • Total: 593 thousand tons, down 7.3% from February 2019 (640T tons)
  • Atlantic: 99.0 thousand tons, down 0.3% from February 2019 (99.3T tons)
  • Latin America: 50 thousand tons, unchanged from February 2019 (50T tons)
  • Pacific (including China): 60 thousand tons, down 24% from February 2019 (79T tons)
  • China: 44 thousand tons, down 22% from February 2019 (57T tons)

 

Air cargo reports are filed monthly with BTS. Final February data will be released on May 14.  Complete international data by origin and destination will be released on Aug. 13. Cargo data in this release consists of cargo carried between the U.S. and foreign points.