US air travel falls to 6-month low as Covid infections, travel restrictions hinder recovery

US airport screenings fell to the lowest level in more than six months as Covid-19 infections climb and the Biden administration introduces new travel restrictions. The TSA screened just 468,933 people at US airports on Tuesday, down 71% from a year ago when more than 1.6m people went through those checkpoints. It was the fewest number of screenings since July 4, the TSA said. The CEOs of Delta and United recently warned that the industry faces a difficult start to 2021. Executives expect it to take several more months before more Covid-19 inoculations fuel a significant rebound in travel demand. American Airlines and Southwest will report results and their 2021 outlooks on Thursday. Travel demand usually falls early in the year. But in addition to a slow rollout of vaccines, bookings are further challenged by increased travel restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus. The Biden administration this week extended an entry ban on most non-US citizens who have recently been in Brazil, the UK and much of Europe, and added South Africa to those rules as virus mutations from those areas spread. The US government on Tuesday also started requiring travelers, including citizens, to show proof of a recent negative Covid test before boarding flights to the United States. <br/>