Data released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) show that international air passenger travel to and from the United States increased by 8% in April 2024 compared to April 2023.
The total number of enplanements reached 21.4 million, surpassing pre-pandemic April 2019 levels by 1.6%.
Non-U.S. citizen air passenger arrivals to the United States totaled 4.873 million in April 2024, reflecting a 6.8% increase compared to April 2023. This figure represents 85.3% of the volume seen in April 2019.
Overseas visitor arrivals amounted to 2.821 million, reaching 79.3% of pre-pandemic levels but down from 93.8% in March 2024.
U.S. citizen air passenger departures from the United States to foreign countries reached 5.544 million in April 2024, marking a 5.6% increase compared to April 2023. This number exceeded the April 2019 volume by 16.9%.
Total air passenger travel (arrivals and departures) between the United States and other countries was led by Mexico with 3.319 million passengers, followed by Canada (2.675 million), the United Kingdom (1.714 million), the Dominican Republic (931,000), and Germany (853,000).
Regional highlights include Europe, with 6.011 million passengers, a 6.1% increase over April 2023 and only a 2.9% decrease compared to April 2019.
South/Central America/Caribbean saw 5.430 million passengers, up 8.9% over April 2023 and 11.8% compared to April 2019.
Asia recorded 2.326 million passengers, a significant 22.5% increase over April 2023, but still down 21.8% compared to April 2019.
Top U.S. ports serving international locations were New York (JFK) with 2.938 million passengers, Miami (MIA) with 2.018 million, Los Angeles (LAX) with 1.951 million, Newark (EWR) with 1.311 million, and San Francisco (SFO) with 1.263 million.
Top foreign ports serving U.S. locations included London Heathrow (LHR) with 1.451 million passengers, Toronto (YYZ) with 1.087 million, Cancun (CUN) with 1.072 million, Paris (CDG) with 678,000, and Mexico City (MEX) with 645,000.
This increase in international air travel reflects a strong recovery in the travel industry, signaling a positive trend towards returning to pre-pandemic travel volumes.
