Airport traffic count is up

Ontario International Airport recorded a rise in passenger traffic last month, helped in part by an increase in international travel.

The airport served 355,199 travelers in March, up 1.5 percent compared with March 2014, according to data released Tuesday by Los Angeles World Airports.

Ontario International’s traffic count appears to be heading in the right direction. Besides the year-over-year increase last month, the airport’s count was up between January and February of this year, according to LAWA.

“The March increase is good news,” said Jess Romo, manager of Ontario International, in a statement. “It’s a good sign early in the year [and] we hope it continues, especially into the typically heavy summer travel season.”

Ontario International got a major boost from its two international carriers, AeroMexico and Volaris.

Those two airlines served slightly more than 9,000 passengers last month, a 76 percent increase compared with March 2014. Combined, the two airlines offer 11 non-stop flights between Ontario and Mexico every week.

Three of AeroMexico’s flights to Mexico City began earlier this month, so the Ontario International’s next passenger report should include even stronger international numbers, Romo said in the statement.

Ontario International handled nearly 40,000 tons of cargo in March, up 5.2 percent year-over-year, LAWA stated.

During the first three months of 2015, Southwest Airlines led all carriers at Ontario International with 569,738 passengers.

That was nearly 60 percent of the airport’s total traffic count for the quarter, according to LAWA, the Los Angeles city agency that owns and operates Ontario International and Los Angeles International airports.