Major U.S. airlines plummet as recession fears add to woes

Airline stocks are nosediving in Monday's open market trading. Major U.S. carriers American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK), and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) are on track for a three-day losing streak.

U.S. equities are in red as Wall Street opened sharply lower on growing concerns about the economy's health after a Donald Trump interview with Fox News stoked fear among investors. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (COMP:IND) fell 3%, the benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) is down 1.8%, and the blue-chip Dow (DJI) is lower by 0.8%.

When asked about a potential recession in the U.S., Trump said, “I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing.”

Separately, flying sentiment has been low since mid-February following a Delta (NYSE:DAL) plane crash in Toronto that injured at least 15 people, three of them critically. The incident involved a flight from Minneapolis that landed at Pearson International Airport.

The U.S. also has a shortage of experienced air traffic controllers.  A New York Times analysis from January suggested more than 90% of the 313 air traffic control facilities in the country are operating below the FAA’s recommended staffing levels. There are currently about 10,800 air traffic controllers, 3,600 fewer than "what is needed to fully staff the National Airspace System," according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

The U.S. Global JETS ETF (NYSEARCA:JETS) is down nearly 13% so far this year and is currently off 17% from its January high.

Shares of American (NASDAQ:AAL), United (NASDAQ:UAL), Delta (NYSE:DAL), Southwest (NYSE:LUV), and Alaska (NYSE:ALK) are down between 3% and 8%, while discount carriers Sun Country (NASDAQ:SNCY), Frontier Group Holdings (NASDAQ:ULCC), and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) are down between 6% and 8%. Regional airline SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) is down nearly 7%.