LOS ANGELES, July 29, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) officials reported today that total passengers during the first six months of 2010 rose 4.9 percent to 28,266,657 passengers from 26,959,999 during the same period last year. While there was a 3.4 percent modest growth in domestic passengers to 20,503,738 from 19,838,166 last year, international traffic grew by 9.0 percent to 7,762,919 passengers from 7,121,833 in 2009.
Air cargo tonnage also increased 24.8 percent to 941,238 tons during the first six months of this year, from 754,022 tons during the same period in 2009. Air mail tonnage rose 19.1 percent to 34,032 tons from 28,577 tons in 2009. Freight is up 25.1 percent to 907,206 tons this year from 725,445 tons in 2009.
"Since late last year we have seen a slow increase in passenger volume due to some improvement in the economy further assisted by added service on existing routes from several of the domestic and international airlines, and the introduction of new flights in June by Alitalia to Rome," said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports that owns and operates LAX. "The next several months will confirm the extent to which recent upward movement in traffic is the foundation of a sustained pattern."
For the month of June, domestic traffic at LAX rose 1.4 percent to 3,827,462 passengers from 3,774,227 passengers in June 2009. International traffic increased 11.6 percent to 1,413,588 passengers from 1,266,264 passengers in June 2009. June was the tenth month in a row of increasing passenger volume, and while airport officials are cautiously optimistic about future increases, they also point out that 2009 passenger traffic at LAX was at its lowest during the last decade due to the U.S. economic recession that began December 2007.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the seventh busiest airport in the world, offering more than 565 daily flights to 81 destinations in the U.S. and over 1,000 weekly nonstop flights to 66 international destinations on over 75 carriers. LAX is part of a system of three Southern California airports – along with LA/Ontario International and Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a department of the City of Los Angeles.
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