There was a time not so long when the skies were relatively empty.
Covid brought air travel -- and most other forms of transportation -- to a virtual standstill as health officials tried to contain the spread of the disease.
That has changed dramatically in the last year as one Washington D.C. area airport reported a surge its the number of travelers.
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Ronald Reagan National Airport recorded 23.9 million passengers in 2022, up 70.6% from 2021, and slightly more than pre-covid 2019, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority reported.
"The numbers are in for 2022," the agency tweeted. "Both of our airports had strong gains over 2021, and @Reagan_Airport topped its 2019 pre-pandemic passenger count."
Who's Doing All That Flying?
American Airlines (AAL) accounted for 56% of the commercial passenger market and JetBlue (JBLU) posted the largest passenger increase in 2022, up 30.7% from the prior year, followed by United, which posted a 23.2% increase.
Nearby, Dulles International Airport reported 21.4 million passengers last year, up 42.4% from 2021. The airport handled 24.8 million passengers in 2019.
International passenger traffic increased 45.7% at Dulles last year, the report said, largely due to higher demand in comparison with 2021.
Japan's largest airline, ANA, reported a 348.3% increase in passenger activity, while Korean Air saw that figure jump 225%, and Air Lingus posted a 176.4% increase in the size of its passenger lists.
Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France and Avianca also reported large increases.
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Earlier this month, ANA raised its full-year profit forecast as travel demand recovers following the easing of covid-19 border curbs, Reuters reported.
United Airlines (UAL) held the largest commercial passenger market share at Dulles, accounting for 68.4% of passengers last year, compared with 73.8% a year ago.
Reagan National and Dulles reported a total of 45.34 million passengers in 2022, a 56.1% increase from the previous year.
Last year also saw the airline industry hit a record high for flight delays and cancellations than ever before, with 100,000 flights, or 3.2% of all flights, canceled in the first part of 2022.
In general, the airline industry is facing a crunch, as there’s not enough new pilots coming in to replace the ones who either have left the industry, or will do so soon. As a result, more and more planes are staying grounded.
