OIA Traffic Up

Passenger traffic at Ontario International Airport was up during the first quarter of this year, in part because of a steep increase in international traffic.

Overall traffic was up 1.87 percent compared with the first quarter of 2015, according to data released Thursday by Los Angeles World Airports.

During the same time, international traffic in and out of Ontario International – which consists of two airlines, AeroMexico and Volaris – was up 21.6 percent, according to LAWA, which owns and operates the Inland Empire airport.

Ontario International handled 33,568 international passengers during the first three months of this year, nearly 6,000 more than it handled during the first quarter of 2015. Air cargo also increased during that time – from 114,112 tons last year to 132,538 tons this year, an increase 16.1 percent.

Southwest Airlines accounted for 57.4 percent of Ontario International’s passenger traffic during the first three months of this year, followed by American Airlines at 20.4 percent and United Airlines at 8.1 percent, LAWA reported.