San Jose International Airport and Oakland International Airport may have to depend on strong passenger flight activity in the course of the holiday season to stave off a malaise in air travel for each hubs.

During the year-long period ending in October, San Jose airport handled 11.82 million passengers, recent reports show. That is 2.3% lower than in 2023 (12.1 million). During the identical period, Oakland International Airport handled 11.04 million passengers, down barely 1.8% from 11.24 million a yr ago.

The updated travel numbers suggest each airports are counting on leisure travel to push aviation hubs above last yr's totals.

There is a few hope, nonetheless, as passenger travel was higher in October than in September – although still below the full for a similar month in 2023.

San Jose Airport handled 1.04 million passengers in October, up 6.6% from September but down 1.3% from October 2023. Oakland Airport handled just over 871,500 passengers in October, up 1.3% from October 2023 2.1% in comparison with September, but a decrease of 8.8% in comparison with the identical month last yr.

The slowing travel trends for the 2 airports represent a setback as each airports reported improvements in passenger activity.

San Jose International Airport handled 4.71 million passengers in 2020, a nosedive from the record high of 15.65 million in 2019. Oakland International Airport handled 4.62 million passengers in 2020, down from 13.38 million in 2019.

Oakland airport officials said preliminary numbers compiled from Transportation Security Administration statistics indicate that Thanksgiving weekend travel this yr was 2% lower than overall estimates for a similar Thanksgiving period in 2023.

San Jose airport officials said they’re waiting for the complete report in November.

The latest numbers from San Francisco International Airport had not yet been released as of midday Wednesday.

Originally published: December 18, 2024 at 12:50 PM PST