John Wayne Airport: 9.7% fewer travelers in July compared with last year

The John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana reported a 9.7% decrease in passenger traffic in July compared with a year ago.

A total of 970,828 passengers passed through the airport, known by the code SNA, compared with 1,075,535 in July 2023.

Commercial aircraft operations in July totaled 7,860, a 7% decline compared with July 2023. July’s 481 commuter aircraft operations was a 20% increase compared with a year ago.

“Total aircraft operations” increased — there were 29,981 takeoffs and landings last month a 22.8% increase over the 24,421 in July 2023, according to airport officials.

General aviation activity of 21,625 accounted for 72.1% of the total aircraft operations in July, an increase of 38.9% compared with the same month last year.

The three airlines in July that had the most passengers were Southwest Airlines with 268,571, United Airlines’ 163,688 and American Airlines with 162,561.

Orange County owns SNA and operates it as a self-supporting enterprise that receives no general fund tax revenue, according to airport officials. John Wayne Airport sees more than 11.3 million passengers each year and has flights to more than 40 nonstop destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico.