ONT continues its pandemic recovery

Ontario International Airport more than doubled its passenger traffic in October, getting within two percent of its count exactly two years earlier.

The airport accommodated more than 494,000 travelers last month, a year-over-year increase of 127 percent and only 1.95 percent less than October 2019, according to data released Monday by the Ontario International Airport Authority.

Domestic travel grew to 481,000 passengers last month, a 125 percent increase from October of last year and essentially unchanged from October 2019. International passengers last month totaled 13,000, a year-over-year increase of 215 percent and down 46 percent from two years earlier.

“The resurgence of air travel in Southern California is most evident at Ontario International, which is experiencing the quickest pandemic recovery among airports its size and larger,” said Curt Hagman, chairman of the San Bernardino County board of supervisors and an airport authority commissioner, in the statement.

Cargo shipments – commercial freight and mail – declined 11.5 percent in October. Compared with October 2019, Ontario International’s cargo tonnage was up more than seven percent, according to the authority.