OIA passenger traffic up

Passenger traffic at Ontario International Airport increased 4.3 percent in April compared with April 2016, according to data released this week.

The airport, which was taken over by the city of Ontario last year, accommodated 369,500 passengers last month compared with 354,384 passenger exactly one year earlier, airport official reported.

Ontario International’s domestic traffic count was up 3.6 percent during the fourth month of the year, while its international account was up 26.6 percent. Two international carriers, Volaris and Aeromexico, operate out of Ontario International.

Nearly 40,000 tons of cargo freight was handled at Ontario International during April, roughly a 17 percent increase compared with April 2016.

In other news, Volaris began four weekly nonstop flights between Ontario International and Leon in Mexico, on May 16. Leon is the largest city in Guanajuato, a state in central Mexico.

Ontario International is owned and operated by the Ontario International Airport Authority, an agency of the city of Ontario. The city got control of the airport last year after a long legal battle with Los Angeles World Airports, a city of Los Angeles agency that owns and operates Los Angeles International Airport.

Inland Empire officials maintained that LAWA neglected Ontario International in favor of Los Angeles International, causing Ontario International’s traffic count to drop to mid-1980s levels. LAWA officials blamed the drop on the recession.