Airline Investors Weigh Up More Pandemic Baggage

Summary

• The Transportation Security Administration expects around 20 million people to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday season, a slight decline from record 2019 levels.
• U.S. airlines are scrambling to capture the full benefits of a recovery in passenger demand. The one thing they don’t have to worry about is being forcibly grounded by their governments - unlike European counterparts.
• A cancellation of holiday travel in China would not only affect movement within the world’s most populous country, but impact international flights for months.

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By Breakingviews

As Americans flock to airports for a holiday travel bonanza, Europeans are bracing for a winter of government clampdowns. The U.S. airlines ought to be in a better position, but Covid-19 disruptions are likely to bring new