Steady gains in passenger and cargo volumes continued in October at Ontario International Airport (ONT), putting the Inland Empire airport on pace to welcome more than 5 million air travelers this year, the highest number in a decade.
Arriving and departing passengers totaled more than 455,000 last month, an increase of nearly 11% from October a year ago when 410,000 air travelers moved through ONT. The number included almost 434,000 domestic passengers, 8.3% higher than October 2017. And the number of international travelers more than doubled from 10,000 last October to more than 21,000.
“Ontario continues to prove itself an appealing alternative for air travel in Southern California since it is largely free of the congestion and restrictions of other local airports,” said Mark Thorpe, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). “With strong demand for air service, particularly in the Los Angeles area, airlines and air travelers are recognizing Ontario’s ability to deliver a hassle-free, customer-friendly experience.”
Southwest Airlines announced earlier this month it will launch service from ONT to San Francisco International Airport with four round trips a day beginning next June. Southwest will also add a third flight to Denver International Airport Monday through Friday. Delta Air Lines recently announced plans for daily service between ONT and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport beginning in April.
Over the first 10 months of the year, more than 4.2 million travelers passed through ONT, a 13% increase from the same period last year. The number of domestic passengers grew by more almost 12% to more than four million while international passenger volume climbed 54% to nearly 180,000.
Ontario last exceeded 5 million annual passengers in 2008 when air travelers totaled more than 6.2 million.
Ontario’s air cargo business also continued to grow at a double-digit pace — more than 14% — in October to 66,000 tons from 57,700 tons in October last year. From January through October, cargo volume grew to more than 610,000 tons from 520,000 tons over the same 10-month period a year ago, an increase of more than 17%. ONT sits in the heart of the largest outgoing freight market in the United States. According to a recent report by FreightWaves, the Ontario market has surpassed Atlanta for the No. 1 position.
October 2018 October 2017 % Change YTD 2018 YTD 2017 % Change
Passenger Traffic
Domestic 433,996 400,582 8.3% 4,038,151 3,615,528 11.7%
International 21,276 10,011 112.5% 179,172 116,225 54.1%
Total 455,272 410,593 10.9% 4,217,323 3,731,783 13.0%
Air Cargo (Tons)
Freight 63,498 54,193 17.2% 585,203 495,947 18.0%
Mail 2,679 3,577 -25.1% 25,675 24,802 3.5%
Total 66,177 57,769 14.6% 610,878 520,748 17.3%
