Summer Traffic Spikes At Oakland International Airport
OAKLAND (KCBS) – Oakland International Airport has already seen a healthy uptick in air travel this summer, meaning it could be a banner year for the hub.
Not since the great recession in 2008 has the airport seen an increase in travel.
Oakland International Airport spokesperson Rosemary Barnes said things are different this year for several reasons.
KCBS' Jeffrey Schaub Reports:
"There's been expansion of service both to Europe and the Hawaiian Islands by a number of carriers here," she said. "We're certainly seeing leisure traffic to the Hawaiian Islands coming back on both Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines. We've seen about a five percent increase in passenger traffic over the past couple of months here."
Barnes said that cheapflights.com recently credited Oakland as having the greatest number of value trips nationwide.
Airport officials said they hope this is just the start of a big rebound and expect an even higher volume of passengers once the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to Oakland airport connector goes into service in about two years.
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
