BTS Releases January 2010 Airline Traffic Data;

System Traffic Up 1.5 Percent from January 2009

U.S. airlines carried 52.6 million scheduled domestic and international passengers in January 2010, 1.5 percent more than they did in January 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported in a release of preliminary data (Table 1). The January 2010 passenger total was 8.8 percent below that of January 2008 (Table 2).

BTS, a part of DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, in a release of preliminary data, reported that U.S. airlines carried 1.6 percent more domestic passengers and 1.2 percent more international passengers in January 2010 than in January 2009 (Tables 5, 9).  The system, domestic and international load factors in January 2010 were all the highest ever for the month of January.

Additional traffic numbers can be found on the BTS website in the Airline Industry box.  Click on a link in the column on the right. For more historic numbers, see Traffic on the BTS website.

Top Airlines in January

In January, Delta Air Lines carried more total system passengers than any other U.S. airline (Table 3). Southwest Airlines carried the most domestic passengers and American Airlines carried the most international passengers in January (Table 7, 11). See notes under Tables 3, 7 and 11 for more details on Delta's January report.

Top Airports in January

More total system and domestic passengers boarded planes in January 2010 at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International than at any other U.S. airport (Tables 4, 8). More international passengers boarded U.S. carriers at Miami International than at any other U.S. airport (Table 12).

Flights Operated

U.S. carriers operated 761,900 domestic and international flights in January 2010, 2.0 percent fewer than in January 2009 (Table 1).  Domestic flights were down 2.2 percent from January 2009 while international flights declined 0.3 percent (Tables 5, 9).

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