Air travel: How many people are flying in the US relative to "normal"?

6/1/21 7:00PM

Air travel is back. Kinda.

‍The latest data from the TSA reveals that over the Memorial Day weekend (Friday to Monday, inclusive) more than 7.1 million travelers passed through an American airport checkpoint. Those numbers are the highest that the TSA has reported since early March 2020, before the pandemic ground the industry to a halt.

‍Airlines rejoice

‍Airline stocks rose modestly on the news, suggesting the numbers were slightly higher than investors might have expected — although the traffic remains around 20-25% lower than a typical day in a normal year (2019 in the chart).

It's going to be interesting to see just how high these numbers rise over the summer, as restrictions continue to ease and everyone jets off for their 2020 vacations (a year late). Whether they eventually rise to 2.5m+ travelers per day seems likely to depend on whether business travel makes a come back. TSA officials have said, so far, that business travel is the one thing that hasn't returned. Does it need to? Or can those meetings and conferences stay virtual forever?

J. Edward Moreno11/4/25

Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

Starbucks disclosed on Monday evening in a regulatory filing that it will sell control of its ailing China business to Boyu Capital for about $4 billion.

Under the agreement, Boyu will own a 60% stake in the China segment, which will become a joint venture between Boyu and Starbucks. The coffee chain will retain a 40% interest in the entity and will continue to own and license the brand and intellectual property.

Bloomberg reported earlier this year that the company was looking to sell its China segment. The American coffee giant has struggled to succeed in China, its second-largest market after the US.

Tom Jones

10/6/25

OPEC and others are boosting oil production as the race to catch up with the US goes on

This month’s 137,000-barrel-a-day boost is a little more modest than some expected.

Millie Giles

RED FLAG, GREEN FLAG

9/25/25

China, the world’s largest carbon polluter, has pledged to cut emissions for the first time

President Xi Jinping has announced that China is aiming to slash carbon emissions by up to 10% in the next decade.

solar power station on the rooftop of the factory

Claire Yubin Oh9/19/25

John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

Despite a record year of passenger numbers, flight cancellations, and delays, a new survey has revealed that flyers have been increasingly satisfied about their experiences in North American airports.

According to this year’s North America Airport Satisfaction Study from data analysts at J.D. Power, overall passenger satisfaction scores were up 10 points (on a 1,000-point scale), largely from “improvements in food, beverage and retail and ease of travel through the airport.” The annual survey measures overall traveler satisfaction across the region’s airports in seven categories (in order of importance): ease of travel, level of trust, terminal facilities, airport staff, airport departure experience, food and retail, and airport arrival experience.

Here are the region’s favorites:

Millie Giles

DOT-COM BUBBLE

9/12/25

More than 40% of American adults now report being online “almost constantly”

While a new survey showed Japan has the greatest share of perpetually online people, there was a significant number reporting not using the internet at all.

Air travel: How many people are flying in the US relative to "normal"?

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Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

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