Oakland Airport flights, travelers increasing, but 'full recovery' still far off

Oakland International Airport continues its comeback, with more passengers flying on more airlines.
Oakland International Airport continues its comeback, with more passengers flying on more airlines. Photo credit Getty Images

Oakland International Airport continues its comeback, with more passengers flying on more airlines.

Passenger numbers are back up to 75% of what they were in July 2019, airport officials told KCBS Radio.

"Overall, for a rolling 12-month period, we are off still by about one third," Bryant Francis, Director of Aviation at the Port of Oakland, said of flight schedules increasing over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Passenger traffic has started to increase as airlines have added more destinations.

"Things are certainly improving," Francis explained. "They are much better than what they were one year ago, but we still have a bit of a ways to go in terms of experiencing a full recovery."

Flights to lesser-served markets have also increased.

Southwest Airlines now flies to Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and Eugene, Oregon, while Bryant said Allegiant Air has nonstop flights to Bozeman, Montana and Spirit Airlines flies nonstop to Orange County.

An ambitious airport expansion and modernization project is underway, too, but Bryant said it will be years in the making.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images