As parts of the United States begin the process of reopening up the economy, apparently many people are taking advantage in the form of hopping on a flight to their chosen destination. TSA just announced that for the first time in a month, air travel has actually increased—with almost 130,000 people traveling following the coronavirus outbreak.
@People reports, after being hit very hard financially within the last few months, the air travel industry is finally showing small signs that business is getting back to normal. The TSA officially reported its first increase of travelers since April 3rd. 128,875 passengers were screened for air travel on April 26th—that’s up significantly from 123,464 on April 24th and 111,627 on April 23rd.
Although those numbers are obvious signs that some Americans are comfortable traveling, the numbers are a fraction of what they were before the coronavirus outbreak. Before the virus forced a nationwide lockdown, TSA says that on average, around 2 million people would be scanned for air travel daily. Like a host of other industries, air travel is currently facing potentially devastating effects of the global pandemic that may take a while to recover from.
All three of the major U.S. airlines — Delta, United and American —have all suffered massive financial losses due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a joint letter issued to United Airlines employees on April 15th, CEO Oscar Munoz and President Scott Kirby said the company announced that the company saw a 97% drop in demand during the first two weeks of April compared to the same time frame back in 2019.
They also said they “expect to fly fewer people during the entire month of May than we did on a single day in May 2019.” Additionally, the company has warned employees that pay cuts will likely happen in the coming months.
Munoz, who has been United’s CEO since 2015, decided to formally forfeit his salary until June 30th. Meanwhile, Delta CEO Ed Bastian made a similar announcement last month and Southwest CEO Gary Kelly will incur a 10% pay cut.
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