Air Travel Consumer Report: December 2020, full year 2020 numbers

The U.S. Department of Transportation today released its February 2021 Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on reporting marketing and operating air carrier data compiled for the month of December 2020 and calendar year 2020. The ATCR is designed to assist consumers with information on the quality of services provided by airlines. 

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency has resulted in significant changes to airline schedules and operations, contributing to airlines’ on-time performance and cancellation statistics in December 2020 and the full year 2020.

ExpressJet Airlines ceased operations on Sept. 30, 2020 and no longer reports Airline Service Quality Performance Data to DOT.

The 10 marketing network carriers reported 397,802 scheduled domestic flights in December 2020 compared to 389,587 flights in November 2020 and 679,941 flights in December 2019. Of those 397,802 scheduled flights, 1.1%, 4,253 flights, were canceled. As a result of schedule reductions and cancellations, the carriers reported operating 393,549 flights in December 2020, compared to 387,481 flights in November 2020 and the all-time monthly low of 180,151 flights in May 2020. Airlines operated 672,725 flights in December 2019. For the full year 2020, airlines operated 4,721,342 flights compared to 7,938,055 flights in full year 2019. This is the lowest number of flights operated in a given year since reporting began in 1987.