U.S. airlines carried 9.5% more scheduled service passengers in April 2021 than in March 2021 (preliminary) but 39% fewer passengers than in pre-pandemic April 2019, according to data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by 18 airlines that carry more than 90% of the passengers.

The large airlines carried 46.6 million passengers in April 2021 (preliminary), compared to 3 million passengers 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.

Preliminary April 2021 passenger numbers (18 carriers reporting):

  • Total: 46.6 million passengers, up 9.5% from March 2021 (42.6M) but down 38.7% from April 2019 (76.1M)
  • Domestic: 42.7 million passengers, up 8.9% from March 2021 (39.2M) but down 36.0% from April 2019 (66.7M)
  • International: 4.0 million passengers, up 15.3% from March 2021 (3.4M) but down 57.9% from April 2019 (9.4M)

U.S. airline traffic reports are filed monthly with BTS. Final April data will be released on July 16. Complete international data by origin and destination, which is under a six-month confidentiality restriction, will be released on Oct. 15.

Systemwide Passengers

  • April 2021 passengers: 46.6M
  • Change from April 2019: -39%
  • Percent of 2019 passengers: 61%
  • Change from April 2020 low: +43.7M passengers

Table 1: Systemwide Percent Change in US Airlines Scheduled Service Passengers from the Same Month of the Previous Year, 2017-2021

Year-to-Year Percent Change
2017 - 2018 2018 - 2019 2019 - 2020 2020 - 2021
January 3 5.2 5.7 -61.5
February 5.8 4.2 6.7 -60.8
March 4.6 6.4 -51.3 9.5
April 6 3.9 -96.1 1,460.4*
May 6.1 5.3 -90.1

June 6.2 3.7 -80.3

July 6.4 3.7 -72.4

August 6.3 3.5 -69.8

September 7.1 5.7 -65.2

October 5 4.2 -61.8

November 5.7 0.5 -60.7

December 4.8 8.9 -61.5

Jan - Apr 4.9 4.9 -37.1 -20.6
Annual 5.6 4.6 -60.2

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Market

*April 2021 data is preliminary

Domestic Passengers

  • April 2021 passengers: 42.7M
  • Change from April 2019: -36%
  • Percent of 2019 passengers: 64%
  • Change from April 2020 low: +39.8M passengers
  • Domestic percent of total April 2021 passengers: 92%
  • Domestic percent of total April 2019 passengers: 88%

Table 2: Domestic Percent Change in US Airlines Scheduled Service Passengers from the Same Month of the Previous Year, 2017-2021

Year-to-Year Percent Change
2017 - 2018 2018 - 2019 2019 - 2020 2020 - 2021
January 3.3 5.3 6.2 -60.6
February 6 4.2 7.5 -59.1
March 4.2 6.7 -51 14.3
April 7 3.8 -95.7 1,393.6*
May 6.6 5.3 -89

June 6.6 3.6 -77.9

July 7.2 3.9 -69.6

August 6.9 3.5 -67.1

September 7.2 5.9 -62.7

October 5 4.3 -59.9

November 5.8 0.3 -59.4

December 5 9.6 -60.9

Jan - Apr 5.1 5 -36.7 -17.5
Annual 5.9 4.6 -58.7

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

* April 2021 data is preliminary

International Passengers

  • April 2021 passengers: 4M
  • Change from April 2019: -58%
  • Percent of 2019 passengers: 42%
  • Change from April 2020 low: +3.8M passengers
  • International percent of total April 2021 passengers: 8%
  • International percent of total April 2019 passengers: 12%

Table 3: International Percent Change in US Airlines Scheduled Service Passengers from the Same Month of the Previous Year, 2017-2021

Year-to-Year Percent Change
2017 - 2018 2018 - 2019 2019 - 2020 2020 - 2021
January 1.3 4.8 2.1 -67.5
February 4.8 3.8 1 -73.4
March 7.4 3.8 -53.3 -25.7
April -0.6 4.7 -98.6 2,910.1*
May 2.7 5.7 -98.1

June 3.7 4.3 -96.4

July 1.9 2.3 -90.4

August 2.5 3.9 -87.5

September 6.3 4.7 -83.7

October 4.6 3.4 -77.3

November 5 2.4 -70.3

December 3.6 4 -66

Jan - Apr 3.2 4.3 -39.6 -42.8
Annual 3.5 4 -70.4

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 International Market

* April 2021 data is preliminary

Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial U.S. air carriers detailing operations, passenger traffic and freight traffic. This release includes data received by BTS from U.S. airlines as of June 15.