U.S. Cargo and Passenger Airlines Gained 1,677 Jobs in May 2024

U.S. Airline Total Number of Employees (both Full-Time and Part-Time)

U.S. airline industry (passenger and cargo airlines combined) employment increased to 802,484 workers in May 2024, 1,677 (0.21%) more workers than in April 2024 (800,807).

U.S. scheduled-service passenger airlines employed 544,618 workers in May 2024, or 68% of the industry-wide total. Passenger airlines gained 3,173 employees in May 2024. Delta Air Lines led scheduled passenger carriers, adding 1,184 employees; United Air Lines added 1,099, and American Airlines added 446.

U.S. cargo airlines employed 253,821 workers in May 2024, or 32% of the industry-wide total. Cargo carriers lost 1,506 employees in May. FedEx, the leading air cargo employer, decreased employment by 1,597 jobs.

Scheduled passenger airlines gained 2,601 full-time equivalents in May 2024

U.S. Airline Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs)

BTS calculates FTEs by dividing the number of part-time employees by 2 and adding that figure to the number of full-time employees. The May 2024 industry-wide numbers include 687,722 full-time and 114,762 part-time workers for a total of 745,103 FTEs, an increase from April of 1,496 FTEs (0.20%).

The 26 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reporting data for May 2024 employed 516,496 FTEs, 2,601 FTEs (0.51%) more than in April 2024. Data by passenger carrier category can be found in the accompanying tables.

U.S. cargo airlines employed 224,682 FTEs in May 2024, down 1,115 FTEs (0.49%) from April 2024.

Revisions: The data from P-1(a) submissions from March 2024 and April 2024 has been revised and resubmitted for the following carriers: 3M, YV.

Reporting Notes

Data is compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers as of July 8, 2024. Additional airline employment data and previous releases can be found on the BTS website. The month-to-month numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

Passenger, cargo, and charter airlines that operate at least one aircraft that has more than 60 seats or the capacity to carry a payload of passengers, cargo, and fuel weighing more than 18,000 pounds must report monthly employment statistics. Regulations require U.S. airlines to report employment numbers for employees who worked or received pay for any part of the pay period(s) ending nearest the 15th day of the month.

See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for detailed data (Tables 1-15) and industry summary monthly data since 1990. Additional individual airline numbers are available on the BTS airline employment web page. The web page provides full-time and part-time employment numbers by carrier by month from 1990 through May 2024.

Missing carriers: Swift Air (09Q) - The airline announced that it would cease all operations on April 6, 2024, after failed restructuring efforts during bankruptcy proceedings.

The next update for U.S. airline employment is scheduled for Monday, August 12, 2024.