Passenger count up 26% over January last year

(Ontario, California – February 15, 2023) – Passenger volume at Southern California’s Ontario International Airport (ONT) rose more than 26% in January compared with the same month last year, officials announced.

The January passenger count totaled almost 429,000 including 405,000 domestic fliers and more than 23,000 international travelers. Domestic and international passenger figures increased 25% and 43%, respectively, over last year.

“January marked a positive start for 2023 as Ontario experienced strong demand for both domestic and international travel,” said Atif Elkadi, chief executive officer, Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). “The good news to begin 2023 follows our strong performance in 2022, during which we exceeded pre-pandemic passenger volumes in nine of 12 months and for the year overall.”

The January traveler count was 8.24% higher than the first month of 2019.

Shipments of commercial freight and mail continued to exceed pre-pandemic levels, up 3.7% from January 2019. The 62,771 tons of cargo processed through ONT was down 8% from a year ago, matching a global trend that saw January freight shipments down significantly from the year before due to an earlier than normal Chinese New Year and global economic headwinds.