March 2024 U.S. Airline Traffic Data Up 6.3% from the same month last year

U.S. airlines carried 84.8 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in March 2024, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). When adjusted for seasonality, March enplanements are down 1.3% from February and down 1.3% from the all-time high reached in February 2024.

BTS reported 73.2 million domestic passengers and 11.6 million international passengers on U.S. airlines flights in March, not adjusting for seasonality.

U.S. airline traffic reports are filed monthly with BTS. See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for summary data since 2016 (Tables 1-24) and complete data since 2000.

Two measures of U.S. airlines passenger enplanements

March seasonally adjusted

• Systemwide enplanements (81.2M) were down 1.3% from the all-time high of 82.3 million reached in February 2024.
• Domestic enplanements (70.1M) were down 1.6% from the all-time high of 71.2 million reached in November 2023.
  
• International enplanements (11.1M) were down 0.4% from the all-time high of 11.15 million reached in February 2024.
  

March unadjusted

• Systemwide enplanements (84.8M) reached a new all-time high for the month of March.
• Domestic enplanements (73.2M) reached a new all-time high for the month of March.
  
• International enplanements (11.62M) reached a new all-time high for the month of March.
  

Table A. Seasonally Adjusted Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods

Percent Change Compared to

Seasonally
Adjusted Passengers
(in millions)
Previous
Month

Previous
Year

Three Years
Previous

March

81.2

-1.3%

6.7%

97.1%



Table B. Unadjusted Passenger Enplanements Compared to Previous Time Periods



Percent Change Compared to

Unadjusted Passengers
(in millions)
Previous
Year

Two Years
Previous

Three Years
Previous

March

84.8

6.3%

17.0%

98.2%



For data filed through March, see accompanying tables. For the complete database of reported data, see Traffic. For an explanation of BTS’ seasonal adjustment methodology, see Seasonal Adjustment.

Reporting Notes
Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial U.S. air carriers detailing operations, passenger traffic and freight traffic. This release includes data received by BTS from 77 U.S. carriers as of June 3 for U.S. carrier scheduled civilian operations.

See the BTS Airlines and Airports page for additional scheduled service numbers through March for U.S. airlines. International data by origin and destination is available through December. International totals in this press release consist of all U.S. carrier operations to and from the U.S. and from one foreign point to another foreign point. BTS’ Airlines and Airports page does not include U.S. carriers’ foreign point-to-point flights.

BTS has scheduled July 11 for the release of data through April.

None of the data are from samples. Measures of statistical significance do not apply to the complete air traffic data.

Missing carriers: TQ (Tailwind Air) have not reported for March.