Oakland Airport traffic jumps 6.1 percent

Passenger traffic at the Oakland International Airport increased by 6.1 percent in February compared to the same month last year, airport officials said.

There were a total of 730,874 enplanements in February, according to airport officials. That number reflects the 15th straight month of growth in passenger traffic in Oakland, airport officials said. The airline seat capacity of 974,042 seats increased by 4.7 percent and the average load factor for all operations at the airport was 75 percent, up 1 percent from 74 percent last year. Cargo volume in February was 88 million pounds, up 9.6 percent year over year, according to airport officials.

At a total of 31,202 passengers in February, ridership on the new BART metro rail service between the Oakland Coliseum station and the airport was up 37 percent from the predecessor Air BART bus connector service at the same time last year, airport officials said.

Deborah Ale Flint, the Port of Oakland’s aviation director, said in a statement:

“We have worked hard over the last few years to rebuild business since the recession, and it’s good to see traffic climbing again at Oakland International Airport. … With three of eight new domestic and international routes scheduled to launch this year already in service, the increased business we are seeing so far has the airport firmly on a growth track for 2015.”