San Jose Airport passenger activity flattens out as trips start to ebb

SAN JOSE — Passenger trip activity at San Jose International Airport is showing clear signs of weakening, a potentially ominous signpost for the Silicon Valley economy.

One bright spot in an otherwise unsettling regular report from San Jose Airport officials: The South Bay aviation hub has handled at least 1 million passengers a month for six consecutive months, the airport stated.

San Jose International Airport accommodated slightly under 1.02 million passengers during September, officials reported.

The September passenger trip activity total was down 2.6% from the same month the year before, according to San Jose Airport.

Last month’s 1.02 million passenger trips also were down 6.5% compared with the August total of 1.09 million passengers.

During the 12 months that ended in September 2023, the airport handled about 12.12 million passengers. That was 12.4% higher than the 10.78 million passengers San Jose airport handled over the one-year period that ended in September 2022.

One thing is certain, however. San Jose International Airport remains far below the record heights it achieved during 2019, the final year before state and local government agencies imposed wide-ranging business shutdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The 12.12 million passengers that San Jose airport handled over the 12 most recent months are 22.6% below the 15.65 million passengers the airport accommodated in 2019, an all-time high for a calendar year.

Similarly, both Oakland International Airport and San Francisco International Airport remain well below the pre-coronavirus passenger totals they achieved in 2019.