Passenger traffic declined at local airports in May as the impacts of higher fuel costs continued to push up ticket prices and drive away travelers.
Overall, 7.71 million passengers went through terminal gates in May at the four airports serving Los Angeles County – Los Angeles International, Ontario International, Hollywood Burbank and Long Beach. That was a drop of 3.4% from May of last year, slightly less than the 3.7% drop in April compared with that same month last year.
Hollywood Burbank and Long Beach airports once again recorded double-digit percentage declines of 14% and 10%, respectively in May passenger traffic compared with the same month last year. LAX continued its steady glide path down with a comparatively modest 2.5% dip.
The only bright spot was Ontario International, which eked out a very slight gain of 0.4% compared to May of last year.
Meanwhile, on the air cargo front, the results were more positive: overall air cargo tonnage at the four airports was up 9.6% in April compared to the same month last year.
Hollywood Burbank and Long Beach woes
The sharp declines at Hollywood Burbank and Long Beach are in keeping with trends that have prevailed for much of this year.
At Hollywood Burbank, two airlines that served the airport for most of last year – Dania Beach, Florida-based Spirit Airlines Inc. and Houston-based Avelo Airlines Inc. no longer have any flights at the airport, translating into a loss of tens of thousands of passengers. Spirit Airlines completely shut down on May 2 while Avelo Airlines exited Burbank last fall as part of a route restructuring.
The picture should brighten a bit for the airport later this year as five airlines – Seattle-based Alaska Airlines Inc., Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air, Cottonwood, Utah-based Breeze Airways, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. and New York-based JetBlue Airways – have previously announced a total of 11 added flight routes. Some of the additional flights have already begun, including seasonal Alaska Airlines service to Honolulu.
At Long Beach, the drop is largely due to its dominant carrier, Southwest Airlines, which has endured considerable turbulence this past year. The Dallas-based carrier has cut routes across the country. It’s also recovering from controversial moves it made last year to end its two free checked bags and open seating policies.
International hit at LAX
After seeming to stabilize in terms of passenger counts during the first quarter, the region’s dominant airport is now firmly back in passenger decline mode. Passenger traffic fell 2.5% in May compared to the same month last year. That followed a 3.1% drop in April compared to that same month last year.
As has been the case in recent months, international passenger traffic has taken a bigger hit than domestic traffic, down 4% compared to a nearly 2% drop for domestic passengers. Higher fuel costs have played a role, as has regional conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere.
International passenger traffic was supposed to receive a big boost in June with the FIFA World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. But anecdotal reports indicate hotel occupancy has fallen far short of expectations. How all this has impacted LAX traffic will be seen when the June numbers come out at the end of this month.
Ontario the sole gainer
It may not be gangbusters growth, but at 0.4%. in May, at least the trend line was positive at Ontario International Airport. In April, passenger traffic was down 0.2% at Ontario.
At the Inland Empire airport, the trends are reversed compared with LAX: international traffic is up sharply (41% in May) off a very small base last year, while domestic traffic was down just over 2%.
“The continued growth in passenger traffic, especially among international travelers, reflects the strength of our market and the growing number of travelers who choose ONT as their preferred gateway to Southern California,” Atif Elkadi, chief executive of the Ontario International Airport Authority, said in the announcement of the May statistics.
Robust cargo gains
May was a great month for air cargo at the four airports, with tonnage collectively up 9.3% in May compared with the same month last year.
Three of the four airports reported gains and even the one airport with a loss (Hollywood Burbank) saw only a modest decline of 2%.
The principal focus for air cargo is on LAX and Ontario airports, which collectively comprise 98% of the total air cargo tonnage at the four local airports. LAX posted a double-digit jump of 11.7%, while Ontario recorded a gain of 4.7%.
One reason for the gains is more certainty in the tariff situation. Last year, cargo trade was disrupted by President Donald Trump’s early April announcement of huge tariffs of up to 50% on goods from many countries. In the months since, many of those steep tariffs have been whittled down or suspended.
