LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- For the fifth consecutive month since May, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) reported double-digit gains in passenger traffic on a year to date basis compared with the same periods in 2003. LAX passenger traffic for the first nine months of 2004 was up 11.1 percent over the same period in 2003.
In September 2004, passenger traffic increased 12.2 percent to 4,677,112 from 4,167,998 in September 2003. International passengers increased 12.6 percent and domestic traffic was up 12.1 percent.
"LAX served more than 45 million travelers from January through September 2004," said Kim Day, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). "We expect LAX to serve more than 60 million passengers for all of 2004, reversing a decline in annual passengers triggered by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001."
At Ontario International Airport (ONT), passenger traffic increased 8 percent in September compared with September last year. Year to date, ONT traffic was up 6 percent to 5,234,188 passengers. Airport officials expect ONT to serve nearly seven million passengers for all of 2004, breaking the previous record of 6.8 million passengers in 2000.
Air cargo tonnage at LAX for the first nine months of 2004 totaled 1.5 million, up 4.7 percent from the previous year. At ONT, air cargo tonnage for 2004 totaled 449,580 through September, an increase of 9.4 percent over the same period last year.
LAWA is a City of Los Angeles department that owns and operates four airports: LAX, ONT, Van Nuys (general aviation) and Palmdale Regional (PMD).