'It cannot get worse': Airlines see fewest travelers since 9/11 attacks

The number of people boarding flights in the United States reached a new low Tuesday, with likely the fewest travelers in a single day since flights were grounded in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The Transportation Security Administration said 87,534 people boarded flights Tuesday, down 96% from the roughly 2.2 million who flew on the same date a year ago.

That surpassed the 10-year low recorded Sunday, when just 90,510 passengers boarded flights nationwide, TSA said.

BREAKING NEWS: On Tuesday, Apr. 14, 87,534 travelers came through @TSA checkpoints nationwide. Exactly one year earlier, 2,208,688 individuals were screened at security checkpoints across the country. Track the decline in passengers on TSA’s web site: https://t.co/V3m1gGc9SD

— TSAmedia_LisaF (@TSAmedia_LisaF) April 15, 2020

“We’ve never seen anything like this ever,” said Mike Boyd, president of Colorado-based Boyd Group International, an aviation research firm. “It can’t go any lower than this. It cannot get worse. If all 87,000 decided not to fly, it wouldn’t make any difference.”

TSA released a statement Wednesday with safety tips for people who may continue flying during the pandemic, including wearing a mask and remembering to wash your hands. The statement noted the number of people choosing to fly has plummeted as a result of the pandemic.

Passengers are allowed to bring one container of up to 12 ounces of liquid hand sanitizer in their carry-on bags, as well as individually packaged alcohol or antibacterial wipes or large containers of hand wipes, the statement said.

“We’ve never had a situation where it’s the consumer saying they don’t want to go,” Boyd said. “On 9/11 people might have wanted to fly, maybe I’ll take a chance. Now, nobody wants a chance of sucking in some virus.”

Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, said the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity is operating at less than 10% of capacity and has shut down all commercial service.

“It is an unfortunate but necessary state of affairs for the commercial side of the operation. But I am an eternal optimist,” Monzo said. “There will be a recovery, and we have always and will continue to try to position ourselves to adjust to the new way of doing business. We will always use safety and security to guide our decisions with a whole lot of common sense sprinkled in.”

Pittsburgh International Airport remains open, but parking lots, elevators, escalators and Concourse C have been shut down to reduce operating costs, according to the airport’s Blue Sky News site.

“We are open for business because we are part of our nation’s critical infrastructure,” Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis told Blue Sky News. “We’re working to make sure our facilities are operational and safe. We’re making sure our military is supported and we’re making sure we are supporting our airline partners at this critical time.”

Boyd said air travel will recover, and the number of passengers will eventually increase back up to what it was a year ago. But it will take some time.

“I think we’re going to come out of it by the end of June and it will grow slowly,” Boyd said. “I think by the end of the year we’ll be stabilized, and we’ll be probably at about a monthly rate of about 85% of what we had a year ago.”