Ontario International Airport (ONT) sounded optimism that the industry would start returning to more normal this year after the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic as the vaccine becomes more available worldwide in the coming months.
In terms of passenger traffic, the airport noted that it has seen "encouraging signs" despite the pandemic including registering six consecutive months of traffic growth between April to October, regaining almost 50% of passenger volumes compared to 2019, and airlines resuming or commencing new services to Atlanta, Chicago Midway, Houston George Bush, Seattle and Mexico City.
It said airlines also plan to launch more services from the gateway this year. Ontario Airport said by spring 2021 airlines will start launching services to Chicago O'Hare, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Miami, New York Newark, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento and San Francisco.
"As coronavirus vaccines become available to more Americans, I am optimistic we will see a return to more normal travel routines in 2021," said Alan D. Wapner, president, Ontario International Airport Authority.
Cargo: a bright spot
While the pandemic impacted air travel "in ways not seen before," the airport noted how its role as an air cargo destination – a bright spot before the pandemic – took off in 2020.
Ontario Airport saw its air cargo operations grew 20% year-on-year and FedEx Express also completed a US$100 million upgrade to its operations at the airport.
The airport said the centerpiece of the investment is a 251,000 square-foot complex which includes a state-of-the-art sorting facility capable of handling 12,000 packages per hour, nine wide-body aircraft gates, 14 feeder aircraft gates and 18 truck docks.
The redeveloped parcel of more than 50 acres and its modern facilities, along with a 30-year lease extension, cemented ONT's role as a major cargo hub in North America, it added.
"We can never forget the pandemic's toll on human life. Likewise, we will always remember how we adjusted at Ontario airport, challenged ourselves to adapt and collaborated with so many partners to ensure that travel through our international gateway is safe," said Mark Thorpe, chief executive officer of the OIAA.
"We faced an unprecedented threat in 2020, and what we learned about our ability to persevere under the most difficult circumstances will serve our airport, our customers and the Inland Empire well as we move into 2021," he added.
