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US passenger traffic at lowest level since 1984
US passenger traffic plunged 60.1% in 2020 to its lowest level since the mid-1980s.
According to US Transportation Department data there were only 368 million passengers last year, compared to 922.6 million in 2019.
The DOT said domestic air travel was down 58.7%, while international travel fell 70.4%.
The pandemic continues to heavily impact air travel and trade group Airlines for America doesn’t expect a full recovery until 2023 or even 2024.
It said the nine largest US airlines lost nearly $50 billion before taxes in 2020.
Capacity based on the number of flights offered by US airlines is still down about 45%.
US airlines are expected to get a new round of financial assistance worth $15 billion by the end of next month when current payroll support funding expires.
That is expected to last until the end of September.
It is part of a $1.9 trillion package proposed by President Joe Biden, which is expected to be finalized by early March.
Written by Ray Montgomery, US Editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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