Oakland Increases Nonstop Flights At Airport, Reports Increased Container Volume At Port
Things are hopping at the Port of Oakland. Port-owned Oakland International Airport will offer a record-breaking 62 nonstop flights starting in May with the addition of several flights from Spirit Airlines, reports the San Francisco Business Times. The Port of Oakland also recorded a record amount of loaded shipping container volume last year.
With Spirit’s addition of flights to Baltimore/Washington, DC, and Detroit later this year, it now becomes the airport's second-largest carrier after Southwest Airlines. Spirit will also increase the number of day flights to LAX from three to four in April. Spirit will now provide service to seven nonstop locations and 11 daily flights.
Southwest Airlines will also add daily nonstop services to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey effective June 4. Southwest now serves 28 airports nonstop in the U.S. and Mexico. Flights to Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta will begin Feb. 12, according to the Port of Oakland. The airport is in the midst of a $35M addition, doubling its international flight capacity, according to the San Francisco Business Times.
Additionally, the Port of Oakland reports handling 1.83 million loaded 20-foot containers last year, up 7.6% from 2015 and beating the previous record of 1.82 million set in 2013. Total volume, including full and empty containers, was 2.37 million, up 4% from 2015. Containerized exports were up 10.5% and in December exports were up 13.5%, the fourth straight month of double-digit growth. [SFBT]
CORRECTION, JAN. 13, 9:20 A.M. PT: An earlier version of this story was not clear that the previous record for container shipping at the Port of Oakland was in 2013. The story has been updated.
