SANTA ANA, Calif.—Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, according to data released on Jan. 28 by the airport.
The number of passengers who flew out of or into John Wayne Airport in December 2021 was nearly 850,000, only a 5 percent decrease when compared to December 2019, which saw over 890,000 passengers.
December 2021 saw many more passengers than December 2020, which had just over 230,000 passengers—an increase of 267 percent.
Additionally, the airport actually saw an increase in total aircraft operations, or take-offs and landings. In December 2021, there were over 22,000 total aircraft operations—an 8 percent increase from December 2019’s total of 20,000. Total aircraft operations take into account both commuter, commercial, and military planes.
For just commuter planes, the airport had 500 total aircraft operations, compared to December 2019 which had only about 400—another increase from pre-pandemic times.
General aviation activity—which includes small engine private planes and large jet or cargo aircrafts—also increased, which accounted for 66 percent of total aircraft operations in December 2021.
The airport recorded almost 15,000 in general aviation activity, a 16 percent increase over December 2019’s general aviation activity of nearly 13,000, which was 61 percent of total aircraft operations that month.
Los Angeles International Airport has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels yet, as the airport saw over 48,000 flights in December 2021, a decrease from nearly 54,000 in December 2019.
