COVID-19 is being blamed for a decline in passenger traffic at Ontario International Airport last month.
Total traveler volume in November was more than 212,000, about 5,000 fewer than October, according to data released by the Ontario International Airport Authority.
That ended six consecutive months of increased passenger traffic. Year-over-year, passenger traffic was down 57 percent last month.
“As the pandemic surges through all regions of California, we are reminded daily of the impact of COVID-19 on global air travel,” said Mark Thorpe, the authority’s chief executive officer, in the statement. “We remain hopeful that new routes announced for early 2021 and the distribution of coronavirus vaccines will lead to a robust recovery in the year ahead.”
Domestic passenger volume was 205,000 last month, a drop of 56 percent from November 2019. International passengers rose from 4,000 in October to more than 7,000, which was 72.5 percent lower than exactly one year earlier.
Cargo shipments remained strong last month, as air freight volume topped 73,000 tons, 10.3 percent more than November 2019, according to the statement.