Read all about it! More than 188,000 190,000 193,000 have died during the pandemic in the United States. Schools and universities continue to cancel or curtail in-person classes. Airlines press for another bailout, but the Senate omits it from its bill. The travel industry begins autumn cutbacks as the summer uptick flattens. Latest items are at the top. Read up from the bottom for context.

Coronavirus Update for September 12, 2020

And this would surprise you why? A Trump Administration apparatchik, formerly a registered lobbyist for Russia, has been trying to force CDC scientists to rewrite and revise reports so they are more in line with the president's political Coronavirus messaging. Politico.com has the shocking, but not surprising, details. Here are today's other developments:
        Florida will reopen bars at 50 percent of capacity starting Monday. But that will not include bars in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Watering holes in those three South Florida counties will remain shuttered.
        Friday Fright The TSA says 731,353 people passed through airport checkpoints on Friday, a stunning 237,000-person decline from Friday, September 4. That's a skewed comparison due to Labor Day, you say? It's also down from every Friday in August and Friday, July 31.
        U.S. hotel occupancy was 49.9 percent for the week ended September 5. That's just below the pandemic high point of 50.1 percent reached several weeks ago, according to industry scorekeepers STR.
        Europe slumps Rolling week-on-week averages show Europe's aircraft traffic was 47.4 percent of 2019 flights. That's the lowest since the beginning of August.
        Maine moments The coronavirus has made the lifeline to Maine's outlying islands--a mail boat--a dicier operation than ever. The New York Times has the details.

Coronavirus Update for September 11, 2020

Freefalling! The TSA says 755,051 people passed through airport checkpoints yesterday. That's about 120,000 fewer than last Thursday and a nearly 11 percentage point tumble compared to 2019 volume. Here are today's other developments:
        Served with a side of virus Dining out raises the risk of contracting Coronavirus more than shopping or going to a hair salon, says the CDC. NBC News has the details.
        WestJet cancelled a flight between Calgary and Toronto on Tuesday after a dispute with a family of travelers over the carrier's mask rules. The BBC has the details.
        Downtown Denver is being whipsawed by a rise in homeless, a lack of traffic at convention hotels and several other familiar factors during the pandemic. The Colorado Sun has the details.
        Air Canada has again delayed the restart of its Toronto-Tokyo/Haneda flights. The new resumption date is December 15.
        Air France says it will not offer winter flights to Paris/CDG from Seattle-Tacoma or Vancouver. Those routes have been grounded since the early days of the pandemic.
        SAS resumes flights to Washington/Dulles from its Copenhagen hub on September 16. There will be two weekly flights instead of daily service.
        Hotels in Israel have lost their international traffic due to the government's lockdown. But the domestic segment has picked up much of the slack. The large Fattal chain, for instance, registered 83 percent of its monthly 2019 revenue in August thanks totally to domestic travel. Eight of the chain's properties remain closed.

Coronavirus Update for September 10, 2020

Look out below! Even for a busy holiday weekend (Thursday, September 4) and a very slow September Wednesday, this is stunning. The TSA says that 616,923 people passed through checkpoints yesterday, a 350,000+ fall from last Thursday. Not what you want to see when traffic is about a third of 2019 levels. Here are today's other developments:
        Burning down the house Alaska Airlines says its cash burn was $80 million in August, but will almost double to $150 million in September. Delta Air Lines says its daily cash burn remains about $27 million.
        New York City restaurants will be allowed to open indoor dining rooms at 25 percent capacity starting September 30. It's the last part of New York State to allow reopening.
        Withering Washington More than 70 small restaurants, coffee shops and fitness studios have permanently closed since March, according to data provided by 11 nonprofit Business Improvement Districts. That number is almost surely only a fraction of Washington's total small business closures. The Washington Post has the details.
        Finnair will serve just 42 destinations in October, down from more than 100 in October, 2019.
        Vegas variations CES, usually the largest show in Las Vegas each year, will be all-digital in 2021. CES dates are now January 11-14. Meanwhile, the National Association of Broadcasters has moved its Las Vegas convention to next October. It is usually held in April.

Coronavirus Update for September 9, 2020

The TSA says about 704,000 people passed through airports yesterday. That's down around 230,000 from Monday's traffic, but up nearly 190,000 from last Tuesday (September 1). Yesterday's total was 36 percent of 2019 traffic. Here are today's other developments:
        United backtracks United Airlines is cutting back on its third-quarter plans. It now expects capacity to be down 70 percent year-on-year compared to previous expectations of 65 percent. Its passenger revenue will be down 85 percent compared to an earlier estimate of 83 percent. Its cash burn continues to be about $25 million a day.
        Downbeat Europe Eurocontrol says aircraft traffic in Europe's skies was 45 percent of 2019 levels on Tuesday, a decline of 5 percent from the pandemic "high" on August 28. On that day, traffic had edged above 50 percent of 2019 levels.
        Sturgis stupidity Last month's massive biker rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, is turning out to be exactly as predicted: a massive super-spreader event. As many as 250,000 cases of Coronavirus can be traced to the ten-day rally. Details of the study are here. And, naturally, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a Coronavirus skeptic who greenlit the biker rally, is all sideways. She's earmarked $5 million in federal Coronavirus relief funds to an ad campaign promoting South Dakota tourism just as the state shoots up the national charts for infections. The Billings Gazette has the details.
        Porter Airlines, the Canadian carrier based at Toronto/City Island Airport, has once again delayed its restart. The new date is November 12. The carrier has been grounded since late March.
        Bulgaria says tourist arrivals declined 85.6 percent in July. Business trips are down 60 percent.
        Ryanair says it will close its bases in Cork and Shannon, Ireland. The Ireland-based discounter, the largest carrier in Europe, has been pressuring EU and Irish officials to loosen travel restrictions.

Coronavirus Update for September 8, 2020

The last gasp for the "summer flying rebound" was probably reached yesterday. The TSA says 935,308 people passed through airport checkpoints on Monday, about 33,000 shy of Friday's pandemic high of 968,673. Monday's total represents nearly 41 percent of 2019's flying volume. Here are today's other developments:
        Seat decline Global airline capacity for the first week of September fell for the fifth consecutive week, according to industry schedulekeepers OAG. It suggests the third week of August represents the pandemic high point for flying capacity.
        Thanks, Obama! The Trump campaign plunked down more than $300,000 at the swanky Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, Florida, shortly after President Trump decided to move the GOP convention to nearby Jacksonville. When those plans were abandoned for a mostly virtual meeting, the payment was apparently lost. The New York Times has the details.
        Grounding the Covidiots The nation's airlines have collectively banned more than 700 people for violating the carriers' mask mandates. That's the calculation of the always reliable Hugo Martin at The Los Angeles Times. The details are here.
        Dining disaster New York has been celebrating a month of Coronavirus infections below one percent. But the success is coming at a high cost. Nearly two-thirds of more than a thousand dining spots surveyed by the state's restaurant association say they are likely to close before the end of the year. More than half say they won't make it past November. Naturally, the restaurant group is pitching for a bailout.
        Hong Kong agony One of the world's most vibrant cities, Hong Kong, continues to be humbled. Tourism in 2019 was crippled by democracy demonstrations sparked by missteps by Chinese and local officials. There are also this year's repressive new laws and, of course, the Coronavirus. During the first seven months of the year, visitor arrivals fell 91 percent.
        Comeuppance West Virginia boasted for months that it was relatively free of Coronavirus. But that was then and this is now. West Virginia University announced yesterday that undergraduates will move to online classes due to a spike in confirmed cases. The online-only edict is in effect until at least September 25.
        Hungary has closed its borders to visitors--again. Only returning Hungarians citizens will be allowed entry--and they are subject to 14-day quarantines on arrival unless they produce two negative Coronavirus tests.

Coronavirus Update for September 7, 2020

Dr. Scott Atlas, Trump's latest dispenser of alternative facts, dismisses as "absurd" the University of Washington IHME model projecting 410,000 dead from Coronavirus by January 1. Atlas, a radiologist, apparently missed the fact that the IHME model has consistently underestimated the death toll since the pandemic began. Here are today's other developments:
        Milestone The TSA reports 968,673 people passed through airport checkpoints on Friday, September 4. That's the most since March 17 and represents 44 percent of 2019 volume, a pandemic high. By Sunday, however, traffic fell to 689,630 and 29 percent of 2019 volume.
        Marriott has permanently eliminated 17 percent of the 4,000 employees at its corporate world headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.
        Art Basel has cancelled its show scheduled for December in Miami Beach.
        New York State, the early U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, on Sunday reported 30 consecutive days of an infection rate below one percent.
        Service shutdown Hotel employees, aircraft cleaners and airport bartenders and restaurant servers are among the low-wage service employees whose jobs may never return. The New York Times has the details.

Coronavirus Update for September 6, 2020

In a wine shop yesterday, the clerk thrust her phone out to me and said, "Look! Wouldn't this be a cool Christmas mask?" Welcome to the foreseeable future. Here are today's other developments:
        Passport progress The State Department says it is working its way through a massive backlog of applications for new and renewed passports and should be caught up soon. However, State warns that the 6-8-week window for standard processing service is now more likely 10 weeks. The Washington Post has the details.
        Gone in 60 seconds Northeastern has expelled nearly a dozen first-year students for violating the university's social-distancing guidelines. The Boston school says it will not refund the students' $36,500 tuition for the semester.
        Bunga bunga Former Italian prime minister and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi has been hospitalized with Coronavirus. CNN.com has the details.
        The politics of death Some Republican candidates are running with the debunked theory that the U.S. Coronavirus death toll is artificially inflated by including fatalities not caused by the virus. A GOP-leaning political Web site, TheHill.com, has the details.

Coronavirus Update for August 30-Sept. 5, 2020

Read all about it! The United States has now passed 6 million confirmed cases and 182,000 185,000 188,000 dead. That's about 24 percent of the global cases and 20 percent of the death toll. We are 4 percent of the world's population. Meanwhile, more and more 2021 events are cancelled as travel dials back from a brief summer "high." And more. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for August 23-August 29, 2020

Read all about it! The death toll from Coronavirus surges past 175,000 180,000 182,000 as European and Asian nations deal with resurgences of the virus. Flying hits the wall as daily traffic sags noticeably. Airlines globally begin to pull down service again. And more. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for August 16-August 22, 2020

Read all about it! As the nation begins two weeks of Zoom-like political conventions, the death toll from Coronavirus surges past 169,000 175,000 176,000. As many places open, others shut back down. Travel continues to wobble: Airline passenger volume flattens, hotel occupancy rates remain far below 2019 levels. And more. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for August 9-August 15, 2020

Read all about it! The U.S. Coronavirus death toll surges past 162,000 165,000 169,000. There are now more than 20 million cases worldwide and a quarter of them have been in the United States. Travel continues to be in an extended holding pattern as Americans fret about schools, the football season--and the post office. And more. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for August 2-August 8, 2020

Read all about it! The U.S. Coronavirus death toll spikes dramatically as the nationwide tally surges past 155,000 160,000 162,000. Countries that thought they'd tamed the virus are scaling back activities just as the August vacation season kicks into high gear. U.S. carriers and hotels face the wreckage of a shrunken travel industry. And more. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for July 26-August 1, 2020

Read all about it! The U.S. Coronavirus death toll surges past 146,000 150,000 154,000 as new cases and rising hospitalization rates tax hospitals in Florida, Texas and other Sunbelt states. European countries consider requirements for returning residents to test after holidays. The travel industry worries about the fragility--and shallow nature--of the "recovery." And more. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for July 19-25, 2020

Read all about it! The U.S. Coronavirus death toll surges past 140,000 145,000 146,000 while infections rage out of control throughout the Sunbelt. Countries close their borders again and reopenings in the United States are rolled back or curtailed. The travel industry faces a hard reality: There's no V-shaped recovery. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for July 12-18, 2020

Read all about it! The U.S. Coronavirus death toll surges past 135,000 140,000 while countries such as New Zealand can declare themselves virus-free. New York City, however, said it had its first death-free day since mid-March. Meanwhile, Florida is the new global epicenter of Coronavirus. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for July 5-11, 2020

Read all about it! The U.S. Coronavirus death toll surges past 130,000 135,000 and new virus infections are rising around the nation and around the world. The question is now what a post-Fourth travel scene will look like as several states with key hubs--California, Arizona, Texas, Florida--report record-breaking infection numbers. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for June 28-July 4, 2020

Read all about it! The U.S. Coronavirus death toll surges past 125,000 130,000. As the Coronavirus rages throughout the South, reality sets in about the pace of any possible "recovery" and reopenings. Europe drops most of its intra-continental travel restrictions, but most foreign visitors, including Americans, are still barred. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for June 21-27, 2020

Read all about it! The U.S. Coronavirus death toll surges past 115,000 120,000 125,000 126,000. Deaths slowed last week, but the infection rate is growing in half the states. U.S. travel picks up. The Northeast states that suffered in earlier months now quarantine arrivals from the high-infection states. European carriers grow capacity as the continent prepares for a July 1 reopening that may not permit Americans to visit. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for June 14-20, 2020

Read all about it! The nation's Coronavirus death toll surges past 115,000 119,000. The second wave seems to be starting in states that opened early. More airlines around the world resume service. U.S. airlines add back some flights, but traffic remains below 20 percent of 2019's totals. And more. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for June 7-13, 2020

Read all about it! The nation's Coronavirus death toll surges past 110,000 115,000 and the number of confirmed cases passes the two-million mark. Protests around the nation overshadow the pandemic and its effects. New York City opens up just as London and Britain launch 14-day quarantines. Flight traffic jumps yet remains a small fraction of 2019 volume. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for May 31-June 6, 2020

Read all about it! As the nation's Coronavirus death toll surges past 100,000 105,000 110,000, the nation's cities are hit with peaceful protests and violent riots. European carriers begin to fly again and the continent's major tourist countries plan to reopen to the world. U.S travel inches up from its mid-April floor. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for May 24-May 30, 2020

Read all about it! As the nation's Coronavirus death toll surges past 95,000 100,000 103,000, holiday travel "surges" back to about 13 percent of 2019's numbers. Some international travel resumes, but new bans are instituted, too. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for May 17-May 23, 2020

Read all about it! As the national Coronavirus death toll surges past the 85,000 90,000 95,000 96,000 mark, all eyes are on the states that opened quickly. Will their infection and death rates spike? Asia deals with zero tourism as bans on visitors continue. European countries sweat the decisions to open to some tourism. Flying is still down more than 90 percent compared to 2019, but surges for Memorial Day. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for May 10-May 16, 2020

Read all about it! The nationwide Coronavirus death toll surges past the 75,000 80,000 85,000 88,000 mark. European countries make plans for slow, phased openings. The United States is more chaotic. Airlines and airports go beyond masks to temperature checks. Travel is picking up--if you squint and squeeze the numbers. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for May 3-May 9, 2020

Read all about it! The nationwide Coronavirus death toll surges past the 65,000 70,000 75,000 78,000 mark. We enter the era of the masked flyer. New York closes its subways for the first time ever. Airline losses keep piling up. Traffic doesn't. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for April 26-May 2, 2020

Read all about it! The nationwide Coronavirus death toll surges past the 50,000 55,000 60,000 65,000 66,000 mark. Some states loosen restrictions while European countries will keep things closed into the summer. U.S. airline traffic begins to nudge up as airline earnings plunge. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for April 19-April 25, 2020

Read all about it! The nationwide Coronavirus death toll surges past the 35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000 52,000 mark, but progress is made in Italy, Spain, Austria and France. Governors start opening their states. Airlines begin to declare bankruptcy and the first tranche of first-quarter financial results are brutal. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for April 12-April 18, 2020

U.S. governors talk about when the states can reopen even as nationwide Coronavirus deaths surge past the 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 mark. Airlines whine about the terms of the bailout money they're getting from the nation's taxpayers. And only fools and self-important pundits know anything about the future of travel. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for April 5-April 11, 2020

Read all about it! As the world convulses with the waves of Coronavirus, the toll on the travel industry is revealed. Remaining flights are essentially empty, airports are shutting terminals and business travelers have nowhere to go--and aren't in a rush to get there. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for March 29-April 4, 2020

Read all about it! Domestic travel is down more than 90 percent from last year. More states impose stay-at-home orders. The death toll in Italy and Spain continues to skyrocket. And doctors and nurses are scrambling for supplies to help Coronavirus patients--and protect themselves. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for the day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for March 22-28, 2020

The new "new normal"? International transit airports barring transit passengers. U.S. states demanding arrivals from other U.S. states quarantine themselves on arrival. U.S. passenger volume dropping by 90 percent in a matter of days. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for the day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for March 15-21, 2020

Read all about it! The world is closing--and we watch in personal and transportation isolation. Countries are closing borders, airlines are all but shut and hotels are putting the keys in the door. Here's how we're covering it. Click here for the day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for March 8-14, 2020

Read all about it! Italy, Spain, France and Israel shut down. Other countries close their borders as the United States preps for what's to come. The Trump Administration botches the roll out of a ban on "all travel from Europe." U.S. carriers begin cutting service to the bone. Here's how it's happening. Click here for the day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for March 1-7, 2020

Read all about it! Italy emerges as the new Coronavirus hotspot so airlines begin making huge service cuts there. Meanwhile, Chinese airlines resume some flying. The chief rabbi of Israel says don't kiss the mezuzah. The travel industry starts tallying the financial damage. Here's how it's happening. Click here for the day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for February 15-29, 2020

Read all about it! The Coronavirus spreads around the globe. Japan, South Korea and Italy are hit hard and airlines quickly drop their flights. Tourism disappears and companies begin telling employees to curtail business travel. The Tokyo Summer Olympics may be threatened. Airlines begin rolling out gimmicky fee waivers to nervous flyers. Click here for the day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for February 1-14, 2020

Read all about it! The spread of the Coronavirus is still mostly affecting mainland China, but Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are losing flights and visitors, too. As Chinese tourists stay home, however, the travel industry learns how much they mean to airline traffic, cruise ships and hotels. Click here for day-to-day details.

Coronavirus Update for January 23-31, 2020

Read all about it! As the Coronavirus worsens, airlines have reacted by slashing service to Hong Kong and mainland China. Retailers and food-service giants such as McDonald's are closing locations, too. And neighboring countries are closing their borders. Click here for the day-to-day details.