Air travel jumps over July 4 weekend, but down more than 70% from 2019

More travellers took to the skies over the July 4 weekend, but airlines are still facing paltry demand compared with last summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. An average of 661,811 people a day passed through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints in the first five days of July, a more than 90% jump from the same period last month and more than five times the number logged during the first five days of April, TSA data released Monday showed. TSA’s holiday weekend traffic is down more than 72% from the same period of 2019, underscoring airlines’ struggle to attract travellers amid the pandemic this summer, usually the peak travel period. American Airlines, for example, carried about 211,000 passengers on July 2, its busiest day since March, but the airline carried more than 600,000 travellers a day during the holiday weekend last year. Airlines have taken a number of steps to encourage bookings, such as waiving change fees if customers choose to forgo trips this summer as coronavirus cases rise and travel next year instead.<br/>