Put the source to work.
Use monthly and annual air-traffic summaries to ask how travel connections changed over time. Match the traffic definition and reporting period before comparing totals.
Why it matters
Air links can support visits, business meetings, and movement between markets. Correct time comparisons help show whether traffic is changing.
Are you comparing the same months?
Imagine a report compares six months of air traffic with a full previous year. The newer total may look much smaller even when the pace has grown. Match the periods before you tell the growth story. This is especially important when the latest year is still incomplete.
The reviewed BTS package has monthly and annual summaries for four market and segment lanes. It can help you understand broad air-traffic trends. Use the airport reference guide for location context and the trade-readiness guide for the business questions behind a route.
Three steps you can take
- Compare January–June with January–June when the latest year contains only those months.
- Check whether the table describes a market or a flight segment and whether traffic is domestic or international.
- Use current schedules and direct route evidence when planning actual travel.
Read the source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics: aviation data. This reference explains the source or research context; the inventory figures below come from the reviewed NDS package.
Know what you are looking at.
- Monthly summaries
- 1,752
- Annual summaries
- 148
- Coverage
- 1990–2026 across four lanes
- Recorded checks passed
- 14
Use these figures to understand the package reviewed on October 20, 2026. The results section below tells you which comparisons you can explore here and which still need source work. A source guide is different from a complete table of published observations.
How to use the evidence
Treat 2026 as January–June coverage in this reviewed release.
Compare January–June 2026 with January–June 2025 before reporting growth. The stored annual calculation compares partial 2026 with full-year 2025.
Available results and rankings
- Dated air-traffic trends can be built from the reviewed summaries after the growth comparison is corrected.
Coverage and limits
- The upload does not materialize airport, route, or carrier rankings.
- A partial year must not be presented as a complete annual result.
Other source guides
Commercial Diplomacy Index™ · National Data System · Source and method guide · October 20, 2026