The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today released its summer air travel forecast.

ATA forecasts that 7 percent fewer passengers (about 150,000 per day)* will travel June 1 through Aug. 31, 2009, compared to the same period in 2008. Approximately 195 million passengers are expected to fly this summer on U.S. airlines, down from 209 million during the summer months of 2008. ATA is projecting that 7 percent fewer passengers (171 million versus 183 million) will travel domestically, and 6 percent fewer passengers (24 million versus 26 million) will travel internationally.

“The main driver behind the anticipated drop in passengers traveling this summer is the ongoing global recession, which continues to crimp demand,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. “The weak economy has forced additional aircraft out of the marketplace, so despite fewer travelers, planes will remain near full. Even with fewer flights and the airlines’ heightened level of preparedness for summer travel, we remain concerned that delays may be inevitable due to the combination of an aging air traffic control system and convective weather period.”

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“So many have journeyed so far to this remote place inspired by the actions of the heroes of Flight 93. It is the purity of this pilgrimage that testifies so eloquently to the strength of these peaceful fields. The full emotional and educational journey will be completed with the dedication of the permanent Flight 93 National Memorial on September 11, 2011,” said Joanne Hanley, NPS superintendent, Flight 93 National Memorial.

The NPS began counting visitors on Memorial Day weekend of 2003. The NPS estimates the one-millionth visitor arrived in late February 2009 and that the total stood at 1,006,585 visitors as of March 31. In 2008 alone, more than 235 buses with schoolchildren made educational visits.

The temporary memorial, open from dawn to dusk, is on a hilltop overlooking the crash site. It is located in Somerset County, approximately 80 miles outside of Pittsburgh. Visitors can visually follow the plane’s flight path to the crash site, now solemnly enclosed by a fence and carpeted with wildflowers. At another fence, visitors have left over 30,000 mementoes and artwork including religious symbols, notes, flowers, flags and other forms of respect. Visitors also record their thoughts in journals maintained by volunteers and staff. The NPS catalogs and preserves these tributes to understand the visitors’ thoughts and emotions. Some of these will be part of the permanent Flight 93 National Memorial.

To learn more about the temporary memorial, including its National Park Week activities, visit www.nps.gov/flni. For information on how to help fund the permanent Flight 93 National Memorial, visit www.honorflight93.org.

Source: National Park Service