ONT continues to exceed pre-pandemic air travel levels

Credit: Ontario International Airport (ONT)

Ontario International Airport (ONT) has once again exceeded pre-pandemic passenger levels in November 2022, extending its streak to nine consecutive months and edging closer to its busiest overall year since 2008.

The airport drew more than 512,000 air travellers last month (November 2022) with domestic and international volumes of more than 491,000 and 20,000, respectively. Domestic travel grew by 3.4 per cent, while international travel was the highest for any single month since before the pandemic. The November total was two per cent higher than the same month in 2019 and nearly seven per cent higher than last year (2021).

On a year-to-date basis, more than 5.2 million passengers travelled through ONT, 3.8 per cent more than the same period in 2019. The January to November 2022 total was 30 per cent greater than in 2021. At this pace, Ontario will post its highest annual passenger level since 2008’s 6.2 million.

“November continued our run of strong growth on both passenger volume and cargo movement,” said Atif Elkadi, Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority. “While many airports continue to work toward restoring commercial air service to pre-pandemic levels, Ontario is showing month after month what full recovery looks like. The airport’s performance has been remarkable to say the least.”

Credit: ONT

Air cargo shipments totaled more than 74,000 tonnes in November 2022, 10.3 per cent greater than the same month in 2019. From January through November 2022, ONT’s shipments of air freight and mail totaled more than 761,000 tonnes, almost 10 per cent higher than the first 11 months of 2019.

Credit: ONT

“Ontario experienced a double-digit increase in cargo in November 2022 compared with November 2019 and almost 10 per cent on a year-to-date basis, further demonstrating its success as a cargo hub and importance to the Southern California economy,” added Elkadi.