Holiday Air Travel Exceeded 2019 Level as Summer Kicks Off

Airlines got a lift Tuesday after the Transportation Security Administration said air travel over the long Memorial Day weekend surpassed the same time in 2019, a welcome sign for the travel industry that demand is returning in time for the summer vacation season despite rising ticket prices.

Nearly 9.8 million passengers passed through U.S. airport checkpoints from Friday through Memorial Day, about 300,000 more than Memorial Day weekend 2019, the TSA said. Friday’s 2.74 million travelers was a single-day post-pandemic record.
Shares of United Airlines rose 1.6%; Delta Air Lines climbed 1.1%; American Airlines increased 1.9%; and Southwest Airlines inched up 0.5%, while the S&P 500 was relatively flat.
The Federal Aviation Administration said 0.6% of holiday travel period flights through Monday were canceled compared with 2.3% in 2022, and 1.4% in 2019. TSA increased staffing heading into the weekend.
“Low levels of delays and cancellations over the holiday weekend are evidence that sector-wide collaboration to improve airline reliability is on the right track,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Twitter on Tuesday.

What’s Next: Airlines are operating larger planes after trimming the number of flights. Airlines for America, an industry group, estimates a record 256.8 million passengers will fly from June through August, up 1% from the same period in 2019.

—Janet H. Cho from Barrons