Passenger volumes at Ontario International Airport (ONT) continued their steady climb in March, increasing more than 9 percent compared to the same month last year, the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) announced April 20. The number of international passengers grew by more than 24% following the start of daily service to Asia.
Passengers totaled more than 415,000 in March, 9.3 percent higher than March 2017 when ONT welcomed nearly 380,000 air travelers. Cargo tonnage continued to grow at a robust pace, also rising by 9.3 percent last month.
“Our customers continue to show their trust in our ability to provide a safe, secure and headache-free airport experience,” said Mark Thorpe, chief executive officer of the OIAA. “Air travelers expect easy access to our passenger terminals, quick yet thorough security screening and a variety of amenities suitable for business and leisure travelers alike. And we work every day to deliver that high-quality customer service experience.”
Thorpe added that a number of announcements are expected in the coming weeks and months regarding additional air service and upgraded airport amenities.
The significant increase in international passenger volume, from 8,577 in March 2017 to 10,673 last month, reflects new, trans-Pacific service between ONT and Taipei, Taiwan provided by China Airlines, which began the daily round-trip flights March 25.
For the first quarter of 2018, passenger levels rose 10 percent over the same period a year ago, from 1,040,006 to 1,143,867 passengers. Cargo volume, commercial freight and mail shipments combined, grew by 16.4 percent, from 146,096 to 170,055 metric tons.
