Airport tops Department of Commerce report on international traffic for 2015
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has reported the highest rate of international passenger traffic growth of any airport in the United States for 2015. According to statistics released by the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, SFO posted a 9% increase in international travelers, ahead of other major international gateway airports such as New York-JFK, LAX, and Miami.
“Through our pursuit of smart traffic growth, SFO achieved a new milestone in 2015, serving a record 50 million total passengers,” said Airport Director John L. Martin. “The International Trade Administration report on international traffic growth further highlights the success of our efforts, which include improved facilities, a keen eye on cost control, and an unwavering commitment to the guest experience.”
On a national level, the International Trade Administration reported record international traffic of 209.1 million passengers traveling to and from the United States in 2015, an increase of 6% over the previous year. The study also noted that nationwide traffic to and from China increased by 25% in 2015.
In 2015, SFO welcomed six new airlines and/or new flights, including Turkish Airlines non-stop service to Istanbul, Swiss International flights to Zurich, China Southern nonstop service to Guangzhou, COPA nonstop service to Panama City, Air India with the first nonstop flight from the U.S. West Coast to Delhi, and Qantas returns to SFO with nonstop service to Sydney.
SFO also reports it is adding six new flights in May and June, with nonstop service to Tel Aviv from United, nonstop service to Düsseldorf, Germany from Air Berlin, and nonstop flights to Xi’an, China from United, which is also launching the first U.S. nonstop flight to Singapore.
In addition, WOW Air is launching nonstop flights to Reykjavík, Iceland and Fiji Airways is inaugurating nonstop service to Nadi, Fiji.
Total U.S. international traffic up 6%
The DOC reported that total international air traffic to/from the U.S. reached 209.1 million passengers in 2015, a 6% increase over 2014. U.S. citizen travel (93.4 million) was up 8% and comprised 45% of all air traffic, increasing market share.
Non-U.S. citizen air travelers (115.7 million) increased by 4%.
China-U.S. traffic soars
In other highlights of the report, 3,149,858 passengers traveled between China and the U.S. in 2015 on non-stop flights, up 21.8% from the year before. Of these, 2,167,436 travelers originated in the PRC, up 25.2% over 2014. Another 982,422 were returning U.S. citizens, up 15.1% over 2014.
