Ontario International Airport Extends Run Topping Pre-Pandemic Passenger Volume
July marked the fifth straight month in which Ontario International Airport (ONT) recorded passenger volumes higher than the same month in 2019, as the Southern California gateway continues to post one of the most impressive post-pandemic recoveries among airports across the United States.
More than 520,000 airline passengers traveled through ONT last month, an increase of 8.8% over July 2021 and 5% higher than July 2019. The number of domestic and international travelers totaled more than 502,000 and 17,000, respectively, in July. Domestic passenger volume increased by 7.4% compared with July 2019 and 8.7% over July a year ago.
From January through July, ONT welcomed 3.1 million passengers, 3% more than the same period in 2019 and 48.8% higher than last year.
The July totals also represented the third straight month in which ONT has exceeded a half-million travelers, and were the most in a single month since at least 2008 – years before the airport’s return to local control.
"Ontario International continues to deliver strong results as demand for air travel in Southern California rebounds. We expect the trend will continue through the summer travel season and into the fall," said Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) Board of Commissioners and Mayor pro Tem of the City of Ontario. “The statistics underscore the high level of confidence our guests have in our facilities and services.”
"Since March, ONT passenger volumes have outpaced pre-pandemic levels every month, a very positive trend despite the emergence of COVID-19 variants and generally higher airfares,” said OIAA chief executive officer Atif Elkadi. “Our customers in the Inland Empire and beyond have demonstrated their heightened demand for air travel through Ontario International, and our airline partners are responding with more planes to more destinations.”
Air cargo shipments which totaled 68,000 tons in July increased nearly 6% compared to 2019. Over the first seven months of the year, the volume freight and mail, more than 476,000 tons, was 11% higher than the same period three years ago.
