SAN JOSE — San Jose International Airport passenger levels have zoomed higher and have nearly reached 15 million passengers a year, a milestone achieved at the same time the South Bay air travel hub has gained more non-stop connections beyond the mainland 48 states.
Over the one-year period that ended in June, the airport handled 14.95 million passengers, according to the newest round of statistics released by the airport about its activity.
That was up 10.8 percent from the 13.49 million passengers handled by Mineta San Jose International Airport, the city’s aviation department reported.
These encouraging trends emerged just before the announcement of new non-stop routes to high-profile destinations: two Hawaiian islands and the Canada hotspot of Toronto.
Southwest Airlines recently announced an expansion of flights between San Jose and the Hawaiian Islands.
The low-cost air carrier intends to connect San Jose to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii and Lihue on the northern island of Kauai.
“We are delighted that our long-time partner, Southwest Airlines, continues to offer Silicon Valley travelers additional choices to reach paradise,” said John Aitken, San Jose’s director of aviation. “The Big Island of Hawaii and Kauai are popular leisure destinations.”
Southwest Airlines plans to launch the new San Jose-Hawaii connections in January 2020.
“We’re energized by the warm ‘aloha’ Southwest has enjoyed in response to our initial Hawaii offering,” Tom Nealon, president of Southwest Airlines, said in announcing the additional flights. “This second wave of service is an investment that broadens our everyday value.”
Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines also connect San Jose to multiple destinations in the Pacific island chain.
In May, Southwest Airlines began connecting San Jose with and both Honolulu on the main island of Oahu and Kahului on Maui.
Southwest also is offering flights that connect Oakland International Airport with Hawaii.
Air Canada has decided to offer flights between San Jose and Toronto Pearson International Airport starting in May 2020.
“With our new Toronto-San Jose route, we are increasing our presence in the Bay Area, adding to our many flights into San Francisco in addition to our existing service to San Jose from Vancouver,” said Mark Galardo, Air Canada’s vice president of network planning.
