New York (CNN Business)Domestic air travel in the United States has virtually come to a halt, but thousands of planes are still flying. How long does it makes sense to keep doing that?

Figures from the Transportation Security Administration show that only 331,000 people passed through TSA checkpoints Monday, a drop of more than 2 million passengers, or 86%, compared to the same Monday a year ago.

That's not surprising with 16 states, comprising 43% of US population, issuing orders that people should stay home whenever possible. Health professionals are saying that people should not gather in groups of 10 people or more or engage in any non-essential travel.

The Trump administration clearly does not want to order such a shutdown, especially as it negotiates a possible bailout of the airline industry.

"Although we've told people nonessential travel they shouldn't do, but [for] essential travel, we want to have airlines that operate, maybe on a more limited basis," said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin when speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill a week ago.

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