The Effect of Domestic Air Travel on the Spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Abstract

We examine the relationship between passengers arriving from COVID-19 hotspots during the early period of the pandemic and the number of COVID-19 cases or deaths in a county during the first wave of the pandemic in the U.S. We find no evidence that passenger arrivals from COVID-19 hotspots increased the early spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.