US airline flights, daily
Passenger flights that took off from US airports, through , with the change on a year earlier.
Airlines flew 24,711 passenger flights from US airports on Friday, November 6, 2026. Domestic flights by the major US airlines were 3.5% higher than on the same weekday a year earlier, when government-ordered flight cuts held the count down. Over the 7 days to Fri Nov 6: 23,680 a day, +1.3% year over year.
Why some year-over-year figures here look unusual: Saturday, October 31, 2026 was Halloween and an unusually light day for flights, against a normal Saturday last year. From November 7 to 16, 2025, government-ordered flight cuts during the shutdown held flights down.
Flights per day
- All airline flights from US airports
- Major US airlines, domestic
- Same airlines, same weekday last year (BTS)
Year over year
- Major US airlines, domestic flights, YoY
Every day
| Day | All flights | Domestic | International | Major US airlines, domestic | Same airlines last year (BTS) | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri Nov 6, 2026 | 24,711 | 22,781 | 1,930 | 21,606 | 20,870 | +3.5% | flight cuts last year |
| Thu Nov 5, 2026 | 25,361 | 23,418 | 1,943 | 22,202 | 21,958 | +1.1% | |
| Wed Nov 4, 2026 | 22,790 | 20,896 | 1,894 | 19,968 | 19,568 | +2.0% | |
| Tue Nov 3, 2026 | 22,420 | 20,574 | 1,846 | 19,760 | 19,336 | +2.2% | |
| Mon Nov 2, 2026 | 24,637 | 22,687 | 1,950 | 21,531 | 21,304 | +1.1% | |
| Sun Nov 1, 2026 | 25,135 | 23,105 | 2,030 | 21,950 | 21,822 | +0.6% | |
| Sat Oct 31, 2026 | 20,706 | 18,670 | 2,036 | 17,675 | 17,980 | -1.7% | Halloween this year |
| Fri Oct 30, 2026 | 26,116 | 24,180 | 1,936 | 22,978 | 18,567 | +23.8% | Halloween last year |
| Thu Oct 29, 2026 | 26,226 | 24,283 | 1,943 | 22,982 | 20,914 | +9.9% | cancellations last year |
| Wed Oct 28, 2026 | 23,874 | 22,033 | 1,841 | 21,019 | 19,919 | +5.5% | |
| Tue Oct 27, 2026 | 23,526 | 21,700 | 1,826 | 20,757 | 19,742 | +5.1% | |
| Mon Oct 26, 2026 | 25,663 | 23,736 | 1,927 | 22,570 | 22,890 | -1.4% |
By airline
Flights and seats by airline
Pro+Every airline's departures and seats from US airports, day by day, with each airline's change on last year; each airport's split is on its page.
See it with Pro+ Sign inHow it's counted
Passenger Index reads the air traffic flight messages for every flight over the US and keeps the scheduled airline passenger flights: an airline flight number, an airline with scheduled passenger service, and not a cargo, military or private flight. A flight counts once, on the local day it took off from a US airport, domestic or international, whatever the airline. Cargo flights flown under a passenger airline's own flight numbers cannot always be told apart and are a small share.
Year over year compares like with like. Last year's daily flights come from the US Department of Transportation's On-Time data (BTS), which covers the domestic flights of the large US airlines (American, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska with Hawaiian, JetBlue, Frontier, Allegiant, and Spirit last year) and the regional airlines flying for them. The change is those airlines' domestic departures this year against the same weekday 364 days earlier, so weekends line up with weekends. Checked against BTS before publication: within 0.3% nationally and 10% at 29 of the 30 largest airports for the same weeks a year apart.
Some days last year were not normal, which flatters this year's comparison: October 30, 2026 is compared with Halloween, Friday, October 31, 2025, and November 6 to 15, 2026 with the government-ordered flight cuts of November 7 to 16, 2025, during the shutdown. These days are marked in the table and in the data download.
Source: Passenger Index flight activity data (air traffic flight messages), compiled by Passenger Index; last year: BTS On-Time Reporting (US DOT, public domain).
Download the data
Frequently asked questions
How many flights flew in the US yesterday?
The latest complete day here is Friday, November 6, 2026: airlines flew 24,711 passenger flights from US airports, 22,781 domestic and 1,930 international. Over the 7 days to Fri Nov 6 the average was 23,680 a day. This counts scheduled airline passenger flights, not cargo, military or private flights.
Are US airline flights up or down?
Up: domestic flights by the major US airlines changed +1.3% over the 7 days to Fri Nov 6, against the same weekdays a year earlier. Saturday, October 31, 2026 was Halloween and an unusually light day for flights, against a normal Saturday last year. From November 7 to 16, 2025, government-ordered flight cuts during the shutdown held flights down.
What counts as a flight?
A scheduled airline passenger flight that took off from a US airport (the 50 states, Puerto Rico and the US territories), domestic or international, by any airline. Each flight counts once, on the local day it took off. Cargo, military, business jets and private flights are left out.
Why does the year-over-year change use a smaller number?
Last year's daily counts come from the US Department of Transportation's On-Time data (BTS), which covers the domestic flights of the large US airlines and the regional airlines flying for them. The change compares the same flights both years: those airlines' domestic departures, on the same weekday a year earlier. Spirit Airlines stays in last year's count, so its exit shows as the drop in flights it was.
How current is it?
A day is complete the next morning; the page is rebuilt each morning with the rest of Passenger Index, beside the TSA checkpoint count for the same day.
Where do the counts come from?
Passenger Index compiles them from air traffic flight messages and checks them against the BTS counts. They are Passenger Index's own estimates, not a government statistic.
What do the paid plans add?
Pro: each airport's departures and seats, all airlines together, every day, by week and by month with the change on last year, on the airport's page. Pro+: the split by airline, nationally and at every airport, and the Airline Scorecards before the airline reports.
Cite as: Passenger Index, "US airline flights", https://passengerindex.com/web/flights/ (CC BY 4.0).