Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) officials recently reported that total passenger numbers during the first six months of 2010 rose 4.9% to 28,266,657 passengers from 26,959,999 during the same period last year. While there was a modest 3.4% growth in domestic passengers to 20,503,738 from 19,838,166 last year, international traffic grew by 9.0% to 7,762,919 passengers from 7,121,833 in 2009.

Air cargo tonnage also increased 24.8% to 941,238 tons during the first six months of this year, from 754,022 tons during the same period in 2009. Air mail tonnage rose 19.1% to 34,032 tons from 28,577 tons in 2009. Freight is up 25.1% to 907,206 tons this year from 725,445 tons in 2009.

“Since late last year we have seen a slow increase in passenger volume due to some improvement in the economy further assisted by added service on existing routes from several of the domestic and international airlines, and the introduction of new flights in June by Alitalia to Rome,” said Gina Marie Lindsey, Executive Director of Los Angeles World Airports, the company that owns and operates LAX. “The next several months will confirm the extent to which recent upward movement in traffic is the foundation of a sustained pattern.”

For the month of June, domestic traffic at LAX rose 1.4% to 3,827,462 passengers from 3,774,227 passengers in June 2009. International traffic increased 11.6% to 1,413,588 passengers from 1,266,264 passengers in June 2009. June was the tenth month in a row of increasing passenger volume, and while airport officials are cautiously optimistic about future increases, they also point out that 2009 passenger traffic at LAX was at its lowest during the last decade due to the US economic recession that began in December of 2007.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the seventh busiest airport in the world, offering more than 565 daily flights to 81 destinations in the US and over 1,000 weekly nonstop flights to 66 international destinations on over 75 carriers.