SAN JOSE — Passenger trips at San Jose International Airport turned sluggish in November, producing an ominous start to the crucial holiday travel season at the South Bay aviation hub.
San Jose International Airport handled slightly fewer than 954,800 passengers in November, which was down 1.2% from the passenger trips through the transportation complex during the same month in 2023, according to the latest trip statistics posted by the airport.
This means that November, which included the vital Thanksgiving weekend that kicked off the holiday travel season, was weaker than a year ago.
The current passenger trip trends are on a decidedly weaker flight path compared to similar periods the year before.
Over the 12 months that ended in November, San Jose Airport accommodated 11.8 million passengers, the report showed.
This is 1.9% less than the total for a similar period of 12 months ending in November 2023, when San Jose Airport handled 12.03 million passengers.
The fading travel pattern for San Jose International Airport represents a setback.
Until recent months, the South Bay aviation complex had been enjoying an improving post-coronavirus trend for passenger trips.
San Jose International Airport handled 4.71 million passengers in 2020, a nosedive from the record-high 15.65 million in 2019 — not unexpected, considering the brutal effects on the worldwide travel and lodging sectors unleashed by the coronaviruas.
The South Bay airport handled 7.36 million passengers in 2021, 11.33 million in 2022 and 12.1 million passengers in 2023.
For several months, 2024 was trending ahead of 2023. San Jose Airport, however, is now headed toward a weaker 12 months compared with last year.
The total for the most recent 12 months is also 29.2% below the total for 2019, which was the final full year before coronavirus-spawned government restrictions throttled the worldwide travel and airline industries.