U.S. Air Travel Hits Highest Numbers Since Pandemic

Air travel in the United States appears to be on the rise after this past weekend saw a new record for the most people screened by the Transportation Security Administration since the pandemic affected the country last year.

According to The Associated Press, the TSA reported that over 1.3 million people went through their screening processes both Friday and Sunday. As the summer months approach, airlines believe that more people will continue to book flights as some might be eager to travel more than they have over the past year.

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said on Monday, “Our last three weeks have been the best three weeks since the pandemic hit, and each week has been better than the one prior.”

AP reports, “While the number of people passing through airport checkpoints has topped 1 million for four straight days and the 7-day rolling average is the highest in the pandemic era, passenger traffic is still down more than 50% in March compared with the same period in 2019.”

The airline industry suffered massive losses from the pandemic as people were more inclined to stay home and avoid modes of travel. As more people are vaccinated and case numbers start to decline, this might affect travel as Americans begin to feel safer using airports and being in confined spaces with strangers from different regions.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid-19 vaccination tracker, around 21% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 11.5% are fully vaccinated.

Parker said that the bookings for American Airlines are currently still 20% under the levels that they were in 2019. However, airlines seem to be more confident that this surge in bookings will be part of a permanent incline as opposed to the previous increases over the holiday months that then dropped as case numbers spiked.

On Monday, at the same J.P. Morgan investor conference Parker spoke at, Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian said that flight bookings started to go up about five or six weeks ago. Bastian said that this time around, the improvement “seems like it’s real.” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby also said that he anticipates the movement to continue upward.

During a webcast with The Washington Post, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said, “… the vaccinations are approaching 70 million. And get to the springtime and people want to travel and people are, I think, tired of being cooped up. So, I think there are very clear signs that our business is picking up, which is very consistent from, you know, everything else that we’re reading.”

AP reports that Southwest said passengers are booking vacation or leisurely trips to beaches and mountains. However, business travel is still low.

Kelly added, “…I’m not convinced that people want to do business virtually to the point that there will be minimal travel. I think business travel will come roaring back. Then the question becomes to what level. And that I’m just not as certain of. So, all we can do is plan and be prepared.”

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