The official said the average flight was just over
20% full and that figure is expected to drop into
the teens by the weekend.
The Transportation Security Administration
said it screened 331,000 people at airport
checkpoints on Monday, an 86% decline
from the corresponding Monday a year
ago, more than 2.4 million people poured
through checkpoints.
Major airlines are drafting plans in case they
must shut down domestic flights because of a
lack of air traffic controllers or airport screeners.
“We have plans in place in case that happens,”
the airline official said. “It’s a dire situation.”
An official at another major carrier called it
“prudent contingency planning” given that
health experts advise against gathering of more
than 10 people.
“We do not have plans to voluntarily ground,
(but) we’re wary of government actions... that
could force us to ground the airline,” such as
the Federal Aviation Administration closing
control towers or airspace or governors
ordering that airports be shut down, said the
person, who like others spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss planning that has not
been made public.
The Wall Street Journal reported that
government agencies were considering
ordering a shutdown of virtually all passenger
flights within the U.S. The newspaper said,
however, that President Donald Trump and his
advisers are reluctant to order a shutdown partly
because passenger planes also carry U.S. mail
and vital cargo.