An all-time record for daily flights was set on Thursday, according to data released by the FlightRadar24 website, which tracks flights in real time.
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A total of 134,386 flights were operated in a single day, with moments when over 20,000 aircraft were in the air simultaneously.
This impressive number, which marks an all-time record since the website began tracking flights, doesn’t include flights that aren’t displayed on the platform, such as military flights, many private flights, and some cargo flights. This unmeasured volume of flights can reach up to 85,000 per day worldwide.
Various estimates suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down air travel growth by around 15-20%. Despite the unprecedented demand for flights, without the pandemic's impact, this week would have marked a 15% higher volume of flights and aircraft.
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El-Al aircraft were among the 134,386 flights operating on the busiest day of the year
(Photo: Shutterstock)
June 30 was the busiest air transportation day at U.S. airports since December 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak. According to data from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), on that day, 2,883,595 passengers crossed through airports across the United States, surpassing the previous record by 680 individuals.
According to estimates, the record is expected to be broken again on Christmas Day, toward the end of 2023.