US Airline Fuel Consumption During Pandemic Hits New High - Transportation Dept.

Fuel burned by US airlines in April hit the highest level since the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, rising nearly 4 percent from the previous month, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) said on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2021) Fuel burned by US airlines in April hit the highest level since the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, rising nearly 4 percent from the previous month, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) said on Thursday.

"US airlines used 3.7 percent more fuel in April 2021 than in March 2021 to reach the highest monthly consumption level since March 2020," the BTS said in a press release.

Airlines used more than twice the amount of fuel that they did in April 2020 and 70 percent of the fuel they used in April 2019, prior to the pandemic, the release also said.

In recent months US airlines have added flights and filled planes amid a surge in leisure travel by Americans, according to published reports.

The BTS reported earlier that March produced the first year-over-year increase in passengers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Passenger volumes also posted a pandemic-high during the just completed Memorial Day holiday, when the Transportation Security Administration reported screening an average of 1.78 million people from Friday through Monday - a six fold increase from a year ago.