Domestic flights are picking up in the US as more people get vaccinated. As of May 3, more than 147 million Americans received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. Since the start of Spring Break, the airline industry has witnessed a steady rebound in travel. Though the number of travelers hasn’t reached 2019 levels, it is still an improvement compared to last year.
Record Number of Air Travelers Since the Start of Pandemic
Last May 6, TSA recorded a record high of 1.64 million air travelers that passed through airport checkpoints. That makes it the busiest day since March 2020 when the pandemic started.
At the same time between April to May 2019, air passenger traffic is still 40% higher than the present. But last year when the pandemic began, TSA only screened 191,000 air travelers. Also, 2020 for the aviation and tourism industry suffered billions of losses. It reached the point where the Biden administration had to bail out the aviation industry to prevent loss of jobs.
When Will International Travel Resume in the US?
The majority of the air travelers recorded by the TSA are traveling domestically. The biggest question among travelers to date is when will international travel come back? Though the US made great progress in its vaccination rollout, international travel won’t come back any time soon.
The US included 80% of the world’s nations in its “do not travel” list. One of the biggest fears is the introduction of deadlier and more contagious variants. The US recently requested Americans in India to go home due to the recent surge in the country. Also, flights from India going to the US are banned except for US citizens and permanent residents.
Nevertheless, US airlines are getting ready for a continued spike in travel demand. Airlines are now calling back furloughed pilots and flight attendants. Plus, you have airlines that are now offering the middle seats again.
