Summary
- Ontario International Airport (ONT) has seen a significant increase in passenger volume this year.
- Airlines adding seats and rising demand contributed to a 14% increase in passenger count in July.
- Last month marked the airport experiencing 41 consecutive months of growth.
Ontario International Airport (ONT) has experienced a record-breaking year in passenger volume. The Southern California airport’s passenger count is up by nearly four million so far this year.
Last month was significant as the airport handled over 14% more passengers than during the same period in 2023. Officials cited airlines adding more seats and increasing demand for the spike in numbers.
Just shy of the all-time record
ONT revealed on Monday that it welcomed a total of 666,322 travelers in July, which was 14.4% more than in July 2023. It also broke the record for a single month since the airport began running under local ownership in 2016. The performance was just short of its all-time record, which was 693,000 passengers, set in August 2007. Among the more than 666,000 passengers handled last month, 629,000 were domestic travelers, accounting for 16.7% more than last year.
Photo: Ontario International Airport
Southwest Airlines had the greatest market share last month, carrying 33.7% of passengers. Frontier Airlines came in second, handling 17.6% of the airport’s passenger capacity. American Airlines carried 14.7% of travelers, while Delta Air Lines handled just under 10%. United Airlines rounded out the airport’s top five, carrying 7.7% of passengers during the month.
Impressive year-over-year performance
Throughout the first seven months of the year, ONT has had nearly 4 million travelers pass through its Terminal 4 and Terminal 2 facilities – 11.6% more than the same period last year. A whopping 3.7 million people were domestic fliers, while 270,000 traveled internationally, representing year-over-year increases of 10.9% and 23%, respectively.
July was the airport’s 41st consecutive month of year-over-year passenger growth. ONT’s Chief Executive Officer, Atif Elkadi, spoke about the airport’s record-breaking performance.
“Our run of year-over-year growth now stands at 41 months as our airline partners and air travelers continue to show their strong preferences for Ontario International Airport,” said Atif Elkadi, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). “Airlines are offering more seats to more places to meet the increasing demand for air travel in the Inland Empire, a desirable region to live and work which has experienced significant population gains in recent years, and the higher passenger volumes month after month bear that out.”
$4 million federal grant
The news comes as ONT will receive another $4 million from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for infrastructure improvements as part of the government’s 2024 Airport Improvement Program. ONT officials announced on Wednesday that the airport was awarded $4,090,060 to fund its ongoing taxiway and runway rehabilitation projects.
“We are deeply grateful for our partnership with the FAA, along with the unwavering support of Congressional leaders in Washington, D.C., for providing the critical funding needed to enhance our runways, taxiways and infrastructure,” Elkadi explained. “Together, we are committed to creating the safest possible experience for our travelers and air carriers across the U.S.”
Photo: Ontario International Airport
ONT is one of five airports serving the Los Angeles Basin. The region’s largest airport is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), followed by John Wayne Airport (SNA), Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) and Long Beach Airport (LGB).