Oakland International Airport March Passenger Tally Up 6%

April 30, 2018

New long-haul flights – both domestic and international – combined with strong demand, increased Oakland International Airport’s (OAK) passenger traffic 6 percent in March. According to Airport data released today, 1.07 million travelers flew through OAK last month. That was up from 1.01 million passengers in the same month a year ago.

The airport said international passenger traffic jumped 61 percent in March. It attributed the gains to new routes such as Barcelona, operated by both Norwegian Air and LEVEL, as well as nonstop Rome service launched in February by Norwegian Air.

“There’s no doubt that OAK is on the rise, as evidenced by the now 52 consecutive months of passenger traffic gains,” said Bryant L. Francis, director of aviation at the Port of Oakland.  “We’re in a thriving region and our airline partners are continuing to respond to market demand by adding new flights and nonstop destinations, to the delight of business and leisure travelers alike.”

The Airport said OAK’s March load factor – the number of airline seats occupied by paying customers – was 80.3 percent in March. That was up from 76.9 percent one year ago.  Officials expect passenger growth to continue following the launch of nonstop Paris service by Norwegian Air, new daily year-round New York/Newark service aboard Southwest, new daily nonstop service to Dallas/Fort Worth aboard American Airlines, and the first ever service to Crescent City, CA operated by Contour Airlines, all launched earlier this month.