Americans might be wearier of being quarantined by the pandemic then they are of the virus that caused it and has resurged.
The number of Tuesday flights was slightly down from last year but ahead of 2018 numbers for the same date, according to FlightRadar24 data. Americans normally account for fewer than half of worldwide flights but appear more willing to use air travel than the rest of the world because 65% of worldwide flights were in the American skies.
The Transportation Security Administration said nearly a million people have traveled by plane every day since Friday despite pleas from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to control COVID-19’s spread by not traveling this holiday. Another 48 million Americans will drive for Thanksgiving, according to AAA.
Airports have been at their most crowded since March but Sunday is expected to be even busier, prompting experts to fear higher chances of contracting coronavirus. About 27% of Americans plan to eat with people away from home for Thanksgiving, survey firm Dynata reported for The New York Times.
National infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS’ Face the Nation that airport travelers “are going to get us into even more trouble than we’re in right now.”
Because airlines made it easier to cancel flights, the air travel numbers could slide in reaction to the airborne numbers. European air travel is more restricted by the governments there.
Even with upticks, the airline industry is enduring a whopping hit. The U.S. Travel Association expects 2020 travel spending to drop 45% from 2019.
Deciding whether to fly for the holidays has been agonizing for many Americans, but not nearly as agonizing as facing the coronavirus threat daily.
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