Ontario International Airport saw cargo volumes continued to increase in March which is attributed to rising demand for e-commerce shipments as more people transition to working from home.

In a statement, the gateway announced that air cargo tonnage increased by 14.3% year on year in March 2021 compared to its 2020 performance that same month, while growth was 27% compared to the level seen in March 2019, or before the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Air cargo shipments continued their surge as many Americans transitioned to working from home and families increased their reliance on e-commerce for household goods and supplies," one of the country's busiest cargo hubs said.

It added that last month, commercial freight tonnage increased nearly 6% last month compared to March last year. For the first quarter of this year, freight volume increased by double-digits to 11.5%.

As its passenger numbers also reported recovery over the past months, the gateway said it is looking at restarting more routes soon.

"Given the new and restarted services in recent months by airlines operating at Ontario and plans announced for the initiation of more flights coming by summer, we are confident that recovery is on the horizon, especially as more travelers receive vaccines and resume more normal travel routines," said Mark Thorpe, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority.