Here is The Oregonian’s weekly look at the numbers behind the state’s economy. View past installments here.
Do you feel like you’re seeing more contrails in the sky this fall?
Air travel is steadily picking up after a near shutdown last spring as the coronavirus set in across the country. The pandemic is still raging but more people are flying – nationwide, more than 1 million traveled on Oct. 18, down 60% from the same day a year earlier but the highest daily total since March.
The picture is much the same at Portland International Airport. Air travel was down more than 90% in April and May but has recovered steadily. Even so, passenger volumes in October were down two-thirds from the same month in 2019.
Airlines scrapped many Portland flights last spring but have resumed some of them and are clearly hoping for a strong revival around the holidays and into 2021.
Already, carriers have restarted flights to Guadalajara, Los Cabos and Puerta Vallarta, Denver and Vancouver, B.C. Alaska Airlines will start nonstop service to Ft. Lauderdale and Cancun this month while Hawaiian Airlines expects to resume Maui service on Nov. 20 and will increase service to Honolulu in December.
Transoceanic service won’t resume until next year, but Condor Airlines says it will fly between Frankfurt and PDX in May. The port says it hopes Delta Air Lines will restore service to Tokyo and Amsterdam sometime in the spring.
A lot may depend, obviously, on the course of the pandemic. Outbreaks are running at a record pace in Oregon but are still relatively mild compared to other parts of the country, and to parts of Europe. So just because more flights are available doesn’t necessarily mean they are advisable.
Alaska Air began offering rapid COVID-19 tests to its passengers at PDX this past week, for those going to destinations that require a negative test result. The Port of Portland, which runs the airport, says it’s exploring its own testing service.
— Mike Rogoway | [email protected] | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699
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