OIA records best traffic count in 10 years

More than 5.1 million travelers passed through Ontario International Airport last year, the airport’s largest traffic count for one year since 2008.

The 2018 passenger count  was a 12.4 percent increase from 2017, when more than 4.5 million passengers passed through Ontario International, according to data released by the Ontario International Airport Authority.

Domestic traffic grew by 10.8 percent last year while international traffic increased by 61.1 percent. 

Ontario International has added an estimated 900,000 passengers since being shifted to local control in November 2016.

“The end-of-year numbers are particularly remarkable since the transfer to local control occurred just two years ago, and they show that our strategy to develop Ontario into an international gateway is succeeding,” said Alan D. Wapner, president of the airport authority, in a statement.

Ontario International accommodated more than 441,000 passengers in December, a 7.4 percent increase compared with December 2017. Domestic and international passenger traffic grew 5.3 percent and 61.7 percent, respectively, during that time.

Air cargo at Ontario International also continued to thrive in 2018.

For the year, shipments of freight and mail totaled more than 750,000 tons, a 14.8 percent increase from 2017. In December, that figure was 75,000 tons, an increase of nearly five percent compared with December 2017, the airport authority reported.