Passenger and Air Cargo Traffic Up At Oakland International Airport

Oakland, CA, February 21, 2001 -- Passenger and air cargo traffic increased at Oakland International Airport in 2000, up 7.5 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, over the previous year.

There were 5,287,365 departing passengers and 5,333,433 arriving passengers for a total of 10,620,798. Air cargo (the combined totals of air freight and air mail volumes) grew modestly to 703,067 metric tons.

The addition of 12 nonstop flights in 2000 and full passenger loads accounted for the airport's passenger growth said Steven J. Grossman, director of aviation for the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport.

"Oakland International achieved a milestone this year by topping the ten million passenger mark due in part to new service by Aloha Airlines to the Hawaiian Islands, Continental Airlines to Houston and the New York area, JetBlue to New York and American Airlines to Los Angeles," said Grossman. "In August, traditionally our busiest month, we handled more than one million passengers, the first time ever in airport history."

More new flights are expected to be announced later this spring, so the airport should easily top 11 million passengers in 2001, he added.

Oakland International Airport offers 176 daily departures on 11 domestic and international airlines, plus 56 daily all-cargo flights. It is the regional distribution center and is the designated Pacific gateway for FedEx. The airport is a revenue division of the Port of Oakland, an independent department of the city of Oakland.

Oakland International consistently has the best on-time record in the Bay Area, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is the only Bay Area airport with a dedicated shuttle bus that meets every Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system train at the nearby Coliseum station. On-airport parking rates are as low as $12 per day in the long-term lot and $10 per day in the economy long-term lot. Visit the airport's Web site at www.oaklandairport.com for more information.