OIA passenger count keeps rising

Ontario International Airport turned in another solid month in March.

The airport’s passenger count rose 5.2 percent year-over-year, including a massive jump in international traffic, the Ontario International Airport Authority reported.

The airport’s traffic count went from 415,000 in March 2018 to 436,701 last month. International passengers rose from 10,665 in March 2018 to 24,261, an increase of 127.5 percent.

Quarter numbers were equally impressive: nearly 1.2 million travelers passed through Ontario International during the first three months of this year, a 4.6 percent increase compared with the first quarter of 2018.

“Ontario customers continue to reward us with their business month after month,” said Mark Thorpe, chief executive officer of the airport authority, in a statement. “Their acknowledgment that Ontario is growing into a viable international aviation gateway for Southern California drives us every day to provide the facilities, services and amenities that they demand.”

March was not such a good month for cargo, which went from 60,200 tons to 59,900 tons year-over-year last month, a decline of less than one percent.

Mail shipments decreased by 8.9 percent during that time, the airport authority reported.