Why Airline Stocks Are Falling Today

Airline shares are under pressure again on Friday as it continues to grow more apparent the United States is going to be dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic for a considerable amount of time. If so, the fragile beginnings of a travel recovery could be threatened, and the airlines are going to need to weather a prolonged downturn.

Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) led the sector lower with a 7.3% decline as of 11:45am EDT Friday. American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL), which on Friday announced plans to lift capacity restrictions despite the growing number of cases, and United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ: UAL) each traded down more than 5%.

The rest of the airlines were also under pressure, with Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ: HA) and Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ: ALGT) down 4% apiece and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU), and Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK) each down more than 3%.