Coronavirus: US air travel passenger numbers plunge to 65-year low

Fewer than 100,000 people passed through TSA check points on Wednesday, including airline staff, crew, and people still working beyond security

Air passenger numbers in the US have fallen to levels not seen since the dawn of the jet age as people heed warnings to stay home to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

According to figures from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), on Wednesday only 94,931 people were screened nationwide.

This was the second day in a row the number was below 100,000 people and a 96 per cent drop from 2019. That figure stood at 2.3 million per day on 1 March.

Incredibly, that number exaggerates the number of actual passengers as it includes airline staff and crew, and people still working beyond airport security.

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Records of daily numbers of Americans travelling by air only go back so far, but the last time an average of fewer than 100,000 per day flew was in 1954, according to data from Airlines for America, an industry group.

The first commercial jet, the De Havilland Comet, had only been in service for a few years in 1954, and Boeing was still testing the aircraft that would become the iconic 707 and revolutionise air travel.

Air travel grew almost every year until the 9/11 attacks in 2001, after which the TSA was created, when commercial flights were halted for several days. The public was slow to get back to flying again and passenger numbers didn’t grow again until 2003.

It could be much longer before passenger numbers approach anything like those before the coronavirus began to spread in the US. International travel will likely take even longer to recover.

Polling firm Public Opinion Strategies said that fewer than half the Americans it surveyed at the end of March said they would get on a plane within six months of the spread of the virus flattening.

Of those still travelling, some are healthcare professionals on their way to help in pandemic hotspots such as New York City. Other people are travelling to be with family. Largely though, people are taking orders to stay home very seriously.

US Airlines, which are losing tens of millions of dollars every day, have drastically cut back the number of flights. Those that are going ahead are mostly empty.

Airlines are also ramping up cargo operations to distribute much needed medical equipment, as well as donating meals, cots, blankets, pillows and in-flight amenity kits to medical workers and healthcare groups.

The TSA is making adjustments to its travel rules during the pandemic, including allowing for passengers to wear cloth masks, bring hand sanitiser with them, and use expired driver’s licenses or state IDs at checkpoints.

With reporting from the Associated Press