Fitch Ratings-New York-16 February 2022: Traffic at U.S. airports and on toll roads continues its gradual return to pre-pandemic levels, according to Fitch Ratings in its latest U.S. Airports & Toll Roads Traffic Monitor, covering data through the third quarter of 2021.
U.S. airports have rebounded throughout the months of 2021, and reached an average recovery of 81% through the end of September 2021 (compared to the same period in 2019), in line with Fitch’s rating case expectation of 80% recovery for the period. Domestic leisure traffic continues to show strength, while international traffic and business travel continue to recover more slowly.
Toll roads remain one of the more resilient sectors in infrastructure, with U.S. toll road average traffic volume in 3Q21 at 95% of 3Q19 levels, in line with Fitch’s expectation of 95%. Certain markets continue to outperform and have already returned to pre-pandemic levels, particularly in Texas and Florida. The majority of issuers included in the traffic monitor have reached at least 90% of pre-pandemic levels.
The traffic monitor is a web-based interactive platform that provides traffic volume information for more than 50 U.S. issuers. It compares current traffic levels as a percentage of 2019 traffic levels, to allow tracking of the sector's recovery to pre-pandemic levels. The monitor also compares actual data versus Fitch’s Rating Case, flagging how each issuer is performing against Fitch's scenarios. It provides several ways to sort data and produces charts to allow for visual comparisons between issuers.
To access the Traffic Monitor, visit: https://www.fitchratings.com/infrastructure-project-finance/traffic-monitor.