LOS ANGELES — Southern California airport passenger volume has reached or surpassed 2019 levels, a positive sign that the region’s airports have rebounded from the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) officials said they expect more than 12 million passengers to travel through the airport between March and April for the spring break holiday.
LAX officials estimate the airport will see an average of 195,000 passengers per day in March, about 82% of the passenger volume compared to March 2019, and an average of 204,000 passengers per day in April, which is 85% of the passenger volume compared to April 2019.
Officials said the uptick in passenger levels “will make this spring break the most traveled at LAX since 2019.”
“The rebound in airlift to Southern California indicates tourism is alive and well throughout our region,” said Jay Burress, president of Visit Anaheim, to Spectrum News. “These passengers are undoubtedly staying at our hotels, visiting our theme parks, and attending local events — meaning the entire local hospitality industry will be feeling the economic impact of their return.”
LAX’s passenger volume highlights the pent-up demand for airline travel and signifies the end of travel pandemic-related restrictions.
The travel and airport industries were among the most impacted when the pandemic began in March 2020. A combination of worldwide lockdowns and government-imposed restrictions on air travel internationally and domestically hit the industry hard.
But with an easily accessible vaccine for COVID-19, the pandemic waning, and more people confident in traveling, airline travel has returned, especially in Southern California.
Burress, citing Destination Analysts, said Americans’ excitement to travel is at a three-year high, reaching an 8 on a scale from 0 to 10. Nearly half, or 41%, described their excitement at a level 10. Destination Analysts is a tourism marketing research group.
“What we are hearing and seeing from travelers is that they are ready to move beyond the pandemic, which is evident through the increase in tourism we are continuing to see since 2020,” said Burress.
John Wayne Airport in Orange County served 944,000 passengers in Dec. 2022, a nearly 6% increase from 2019’s pre-pandemic passenger levels of 891,500.
Ontario International Airport saw 5.7 million passengers in 2022, an 3.6% increase from 2019’s 5.5 million passengers.
Long Beach Airport saw a 36% year-over-year increase in passenger traffic from Jan. 2023 to Jan. 2022.
Meanwhile, the Hollywood Burbank Airport is near its pre-pandemic passenger level. In 2022, the Burbank airport saw 5.8 million total passengers. In 2019, 5.9 million passengers came through Burbank.
Burress said while the passenger levels are a strong indicator that travel is rebounding, it’s not fully there yet. International travel is still lagging.
“We are focused on rebounding international visitation to the destination and focusing our efforts on getting markets like Canada, Mexico and Australia back to Southern California,” he said.