Ontario International Airport continued to show steady growth, nearly reaching pre-pandemic passenger totals in July, but air travel may slow down due to the rise in coronavirus infections and the wind-down of summer travel season.
The airport handled 478,000 passengers in July, or about 97% of the total passenger count recorded before the pandemic in July 2019, airport officials announced this week. The level exceeded the prediction of 90% made earlier this year, said Steve Lambert, ONT spokesman.
“A couple of things are in play. We have great relationships with airline partners and they’ve come back really strong. And the flights are really quite full,” he said.
The airport, which serves the Inland Empire, the San Gabriel Valley and northern Orange County, brought in 462,000 domestic travelers in July for an increase of 167% compared to July 2020. There were 15,600 international travelers in July, a 333% increase from July 2020. International travel comes in part from new, first-time flights to El Salvador, and the recent return of one flight a week to Taiwan via China Airlines, Lambert said.
For January through July, ONT welcomed more than 2.1 million passengers, about 70% of the total from the same period in 2019, and 40% more than the first seven months of 2020, the airport reported Tuesday, Aug. 17.
“Ontario International’s recovery from the impact of the pandemic continues at a robust pace,” said Ontario Councilman Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority’s board. “Airlines are showing great confidence in our airport and our strong customer base as the demand for air travel, particularly domestic service, approaches pre-pandemic volume.”
Airport officials predict catching up or surpassing pre-pandemic passenger totals in the next two months.
“I don’t think it would surprise anyone in August or September to see us going back to pre-pandemic levels. There is so much pent-up demand to get out and about after what everyone has been through,” Lambert said.
Ontario airport enjoys an advantage because it focuses on domestic flights, where the growth is occurring, and it partners with leisure, discount airlines that attract budget-minded travelers taking vacations or visiting family and friends, said Brett Snyder, an airline industry watcher based in the South Bay and author of the blog Cranky Flier.
On Aug. 11, discount carrier Southwest Airlines reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that leisure passenger traffic and fares have soared above July 2019 levels. However, the airline reported experiencing a drop in bookings and an increase in cancellations this month that it expects to continue into September due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases.
Also, Frontier Airlines, which does business out of ONT, recently reported a slump in bookings that stretch beyond the usual drop that occurs at the end of each summer.
“Ontario airport has done well throughout the pandemic compared to similar airports,” Snyder said. “Whether they will hit that number (from 2019) remains to be seen.”
Ontario airport is buoyed by a report that said the Inland Empire experienced the greatest population growth in 2020 among top metropolitan regions in the United States, as families sought more affordable homes.
“When you get a market as healthy as this one, it makes sense you will see a return to pre-pandemic levels quicker than anyone expected,” Lambert said.
The airport has seen anecdotal evidence that more business travelers are flying to in-person events, Lambert said.
“While Zoom has all the transactional stuff, it’s the other stuff — the relationship-building, the hallway conversations that you just can’t do via computer or phone” that air travel makes possible, he added.
Freight shipments in July were 6% higher than the same month in 2019. However, the growth in freight that occurred during the height of the pandemic has slowed at ONT. Air cargo was 17.2% lower last month than in July 2020, the airport reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
