New transpacific service is helping to drive travel growth at Ontario’s airport. Passenger volumes at Ontario International Airport (ONT) continued their steady climb in March, increasing more than 9 percent compared to the same month last year, the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) reports. The number of international passengers grew by more than 24 percent following the start of daily service to Asia.
Passengers totaled more than 415,000 in March, 9.3 percent higher than March 2017 when ONT welcomed nearly 380,000 air travelers. Cargo tonnage continued to grow at a robust pace, also rising by 9.3 percent last month.
In a written statement Mark Thorpe, chief executive officer of the OIAA, said that a number of announcements are expected in the coming weeks and months regarding additional air service and upgraded airport amenities.
The significant increase in international passenger volume, from 8,577 in March 2017 to 10,673 last month, reflects new, transpacific service between ONT and Taipei, Taiwan provided by China Airlines, which began the daily roundtrip flights March 25, airport officials said.
For the first quarter of 2018, passenger levels rose 10 percent over the same period a year ago, from 1,040,006 to 1,143,867 passengers. Cargo volume, commercial freight and mail shipments combined, grew by 16.4 percent, from 146,096 to 170,055 metric tons.
Source: Ontario International Airport Authority
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