WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. airlines carried 51% fewer passengers in March amid the massive coronavirus pandemic travel collapse to the lowest air travel level in nearly two decades, the U.S. Transportation Department said Tuesday.
Airlines carried slightly more total, domestic and international passengers in March 2020 than in September 2001, the month of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. In total, airlines carried 38.7 million passengers in March, down 51% from March 2019. Prior to March, air travel had risen for 29 consecutive months year-over-year dating back to October 2017.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul)
