June 03--ONTARIO -- Aided by the arrival of a new carrier, passenger traffic at LA/Ontario International Airport had a marginal increase in April, officials said.
ONT has had a 1.5 percent increase in people coming in and out of the medium-hub facility compared to the same month in 2013, according to April figures released by Los Angeles World Airports.
Despite the incline in activity, ONT has only seen a .21 percent increase in the first four months, compared to the same period last year.
It is, however, in stark contrast to several years ago when the airport was experiencing double-figure declines month-after-month. In 2009, the airport saw a 21 percent drop in overall traffic.
"We are definitely pleased with the modest increase in passenger activity, and we will remain focused on positioning ONT for success," said Jess Romo, general manager for ONT in a statement.
Airport officials have said the steep drop in passenger traffic over the past few years is the result of the economic downturn, airlines shifting the size of plane models which in turn reduces the inventory or the number of seats that are available year-over-year.
The sharpest incline was in international travel, which experienced a 47 percent jump in activity compared to the same month last year, due to new flights by Mexican discount carrier Volaris.
Since April, Volaris has been offering two flights a week to Guadalajara, Mexico. International traffic, for the month of April, rose from 3,684 to 5,417 in 2014. There was only a slight increase in domestic travel for the same month with 333,004 traveling in and out of the airport compared to the 329,820 that flew out of ONT in 2013.
Overall traffic at Los Angeles International Airport was up 8 percent for the month of April, compared to 2013; and a total of 6 percent for the first four months of the year.
Copyright 2014 - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.
