Thousands of flights still taking to the skies in US despite drop in air travel due to coronavirus pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has seriously hurt the US aviation industry. As people have been ordered to stay indoors to prevent the spread of the virus, air travel has hit a wall and the future of the aviation industry looks endangered. But domestically, the US is still seeing thousands of flights taking off every day and that is not an assuring news in the country that now houses the most number of confirmed cases (over 164,000).
A look at America’s domestic air traffic shows innumerable planes jostling for air space - a scene that is bound to leave those religiously following the authorities order for social distancing baffled. People have been asked to stay at home in over 10 states as the country has seen the death toll crossing 3,000 - more than that registered in the 9/11 terror attacks.
“It would be accurate to say that transatlantic traffic has fallen sharply,” Ian Petchenik, air traffic tracking site Flightradar24.com’s director of communications and co-host of AvTalk podcaster, was quoted as saying by National Public Radio. “US domestic traffic has also fallen significantly, about 40%,” he said.
Yet, the number of people in the air is significantly high.
It’s been two weeks since President Donald Trump advised Americans to stay at home and avoid assemblies - a guidance that has now been extended till April end. But that has not put the nation’s aviation system under any restriction unlike in some other countries. The demand has fallen and cancelation of flights is also high. But that has not reduced the number of airplane-shaped icons crowding the screens of the air traffic tracking site.
Petchenik also has an explanation for that.
According to him, America’s domestic aviation sector is so large that even a big fall in air traffic leaves a lot of planes in the sky. “For instance, at 10 a.m. ET, we're tracking 2,800 flights over the U.S. as compared to 7,800 at the beginning of March,” he said.
Flightradar24 illustrated the point by comparing a pair of before-and-after images (March 1 vs March 29) on social media site Twitter, and although the after image showed a distinct drop in domestic traffic, yet there were 2,880 jets in the air.
Tracker doesn't differentiate between passenger and cargo planes
Petchenik also made a crucial observation and it was about differentiating between passenger and cargo planes. He said the tracking site doesn’t differentiate between the two types of aircraft - something which could render the comparison misleading.
In a blog post, Petchenik wrote: “Commercial flights decreased 55% in the final week of March 2020 compared to 2019. We expect this trend to continue as airlines remove additional flights from their schedules.”
No American state has issued any order to stop air travel. The territory of Puerto Rico, however, has taken a strict policy of screening incoming air passengers’ health. It has ordered commercial flights coming from outside the island to land at airports where the passengers can undertake the tests.
Restricting air travel in times of pandemic could lead to debates. The World Health Organization, for instance, is of the opinion that banning international travel generally doesn’t deliver the expected results.
"In general, evidence shows that restricting the movement of people and goods during public health emergencies is ineffective in most situations and may divert resources from other interventions," the WHO said in February.
"Furthermore, restrictions may interrupt needed aid and technical support, may disrupt businesses, and may have negative social and economic effects on the affected countries." It added that such restrictions can be helpful only in the short run.