SURGING air freight shipments continued to drive commercial activity at southern California's Ontario International Airport (ONT) in April, the second straight month of better than 20 per cent gains, said the airport authority.

More than 75,000 tons of commercial cargo were loaded and unloaded in April, a 26.6 per cent increase over April last year. Through the first four months of the year, ONT handled more than 261,000 tons of freight, up 16.5 per cent increase over the same period in 2019.



'Ontario Airport continued to play a leading role in Southern California's vast supply chain network in April as the nation's transportation industries responded to rapid changes in the coronavirus landscape,' said Ontario International Airport Authority CEO Mark Thorpe.



'Over the past few years our airport has proved to be a primary driver for the regional economy and in the last two months it has shined under a bright national spotlight,' he said.



The rise in air freight volume in April represents the highest year-on-year increase since the City of Ontario and San Bernardino County assumed control of the airport in late 2016. The previous high was recorded in January 2018 when air freight tonnage increased 22.8 per cent.