Cargo volume rebounded in April and increased by 4.1%

(Ontario, California – May 16, 2024) – Ontario International Airport (ONT) continued its robust growth in passenger volume in April, increasing 8% to more than 573,000 and extending its run of year-over-year increases to 38 consecutive months.

The Southern California gateway welcomed more than 537,000 domestic passengers and 36,000 international travelers, increases of 8.2% and 5.5%, respectively, compared with April last year.

During the first four months of the year, ONT drew more than 2 million passengers, 9.4% more than the same period in 2023. The number of domestic and international fliers increased by 6.9% and 51.9%, respectively.

“April was another strong month for passenger growth,” said Atif Elkadi, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). “As our airport continues to gain in popularity among air passengers, our airline partners are adding new routes and expanding existing services, all of which bodes well for air travel through the Inland Empire for the remainder of the year.”

The air carriers with the greatest passenger shares in April were:

1. Southwest Airlines (37.0%)
2. American Airlines (16.1%)
3. Frontier Airlines (14.6%)
4. Delta Air Lines (10.6%)
5. Alaska Airlines (7.0%)

Elkadi noted that ONT is benefitting from recent population increases in the Inland Empire and proving to be an appealing and easily accessible option for Southern California air travel. The airport earlier reported it expects to serve nearly 2.2 million passengers this summer, a 15.1% increase over last summer and more than double an Airlines for America (A4A) industry forecast of a 6.3% by U.S. airlines this summer.

Total cargo shipments rebounded in April growing to almost 61,000 tons, a 4.1% increase over the same month last year. Air freight increased 8.8% year-over-year to more than 58,500 tons.

Over the first four months of 2024, freight shipments were 1.3% higher while total cargo of freight and mail combined decreased slightly by 2.3%.

“Strong demand for consumer goods helped to turn freight volume positive in April and through the first four months of the year,” Elkadi said. “We have been anticipating a return to growth on the cargo side and we are pleased by the April volume.”