ONT sets monthly record

More than 541,000 passengers passed through the gates at Ontario International Airport in October, the highest one-month count since the airport came under local ownership six years ago, according to a statement released this week.

That was a 7.3 percent year-over-year increase, and the eighth consecutive month in which Ontario International accommodated more passengers than before the pandemic, the Ontario International Airport Authority reported.

It was also the sixth consecutive month that Ontario International attracted more than 500,000 passengers.

During the first 10 months of the year, the airport served 4.75 million passengers, 4 percent more than the first 10 months of 2019 and 33.7 percent higher than last year.

“Ontario [International] is consistently exceeding pre-pandemic passenger volumes, which is a reflection of our airport’s robust recovery and their faith of air travelers in our ability to provide the customer experience they expect,” said Alan D. Wapner, chairman of the authority’s board of commissioners, in the statement.

Air cargo shipments totaled more than 68,500 tons in October, nearly one percent more than October 2019.  From January through October, Ontario International’s shipments of freight and mail topped 687,000 tons, nearly 10 percent higher than the same period in 2019, the authority reported.