COVID Reopening: As Vaccinations Increase In Bay Area, Oakland Airport Business Improves
OAKLAND (CBS SF/BCN) -- The Oakland International Airport saw its foot traffic rebound from COVID-19 pandemic lows at a record pace between February and March, likely due to an increase in vaccinations, airport officials said Thursday.
Up nearly 60%, 182,000 more people traveled through the airport in March than in February, outpacing other airports in the region. Air cargo traffic was also up sharply.
"As more people are fully vaccinated, we see traffic building toward pre-pandemic levels" said Bryant Francis, Port of Oakland director of aviation.
On a 12-month rolling basis, foot traffic is off about 72% this year. About 3.5 million people traveled through the airport, compared with about 12.7 million in the same period a year ago.
Air cargo was up 22.6% in March compared to February. Airport crews moved 116 million pounds of cargo in the final month of the first quarter.
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