There was a brief period from about late March to mid-May, during the first spike in coronavirus cases in the US, when domestic air travel virtually ground to a halt. Only about 100,000 people were traveling per day, compared to the pre-pandemic rate of more than 2 million daily travelers. Some flyers were greeted with nearly empty planes. Then, as states started to open up, the number of flyers began to rise significantly, averaging about 575,000 per day for the last week of June, with little sign of slowdown.
“There is clearly a segment of the traveling public who is ready to go,” Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie told USA Today, as the budget carrier prepares to increase its daily flight offerings. It’s likely a rash call to declare that people are “ready to go” anywhere, with more than 2.6 million coronavirus cases in the US as of June 30. After months of staying indoors, however, many Americans are growing restless.
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