Passenger trips declined at both San Jose and Oakland airports during 2025, while San Francisco airport saw an increase in passenger traffic, reports from the aviation hubs show.
There was one bright spot for all three of the Bay Area’s largest airports: passenger trips were up in December over November, suggesting holiday travel was robust.
Each of the airports remained below its traffic heights in 2019, the year before coronavirus-linked restrictions and shutdowns forced travel industries into a nosedive both locally and around the world.
San Jose’s international airport handled 10.68 million passengers in 2025, down 9.9% from the 11.85 million passengers it accommodated in 2024.
“San Jose Mineta International Airport has experienced some passenger declines that align with airline capacity adjustments across the Bay Area and broader market trends,” said Ana State, a spokesperson for the South Bay aviation center.
Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport saw 9.17 million passengers in 2025, down 15.3% from the 10.82 million passengers it handled in 2024.
But San Francisco International Airport was up 4.3% year over year, handling 54.53 million passengers in 2025, compared to 54.29 million passengers in 2024.
SFO has performed more strongly than its counterparts in the South Bay and the East Bay over multiple years, according to this news organization’s review of yearly airport statistics. SFO was the only one of the three facilities to see increases in passenger trips for five consecutive years, from 2021 through 2025.
“This trend reflects not only the strength of San Francisco and the entire Bay Area as a highly sought-after travel market, but also the efforts of our aviation development team to encourage incumbent carriers to restore pre-pandemic levels of service while attracting new airlines and new destinations,” said Doug Yakel, a spokesperson for SFO.
Post-pandemic recovery has been a struggle for Bay Area airports, which depend on business travel and have seen it decline with the rise of remote work and virtual meetings.
“Over the past two years, the sustained decline in intra-California business travel along with the broader decline in Bay Area passenger traffic have been the primary factors shaping passenger trends,” said Kaley Skantz, a spokesperson for Oakland Airport.
Part of the problem faced by the East Bay and South Bay airports is a reduction in flights.
Airlines at San Jose Airport and across the country continue to recalibrate seat capacity and strategies to better match passenger demand,” State said.
The airports in San Jose and Oakland saw gains from 2021 to 2023, but began to fade in 2024, suffering a decline in passenger trips. Ominously for both San Jose and Oakland airports, the pace at which passenger trips plunged was worse in 2025 than in 2024, statistics from the airports show.
In 2025, when compared with 2019, passenger trips were down 31.8% at Oakland Airport, 31.5% at San Jose Airport, and 5.1% at San Francisco International.
Oakland Airport is attempting to win back some of those passengers with upgrades, including an improved customer service experience, said Skanz.
“Additionally, Oakland Airport’s concessions have seen a makeover, with 14 new restaurants and nine new retail stores now open for business and serving travelers,” Skanz said.
In April 22, Oakland Airport will also add four nonstop flights to San Diego on Alaska Airlines.
Meanwhile, San Jose Airport officials hope a record of efficiency will attract more passengers and airlines.
“San Jose Airport remains California’s most dependable airport for on-time performance and continues to serve more than 40 nonstop destinations,” State said. “SJC is also one of the nation’s 25 busiest private airports, a clear indicator of the region’s ongoing economic strength.”
All three airports hope to leverage the boosts they got from Super Bowl-related travel in recent weeks.
“During the 12-day Super Bowl travel period from Jan. 30 through Feb. 10, nearly 130,000 passengers traveled through San Jose Airport, an average of 10,800 per day, according to State. Feb. 9 marked the busiest day, with 20,600 passengers, representing an 84.9% increase compared to the same weekday in 2025.
San Jose Airport handled 234 additional commercial flights before and after the Super Bowl, the airport said.
Airport officials hope to see similar results from the men’s NCAA college basketball tournament games in downtown San Jose and the FIFA World Cup matches in the South Bay.
“Travel demand naturally fluctuates over time,” State said. “We continue to work closely with our airline partners to support future growth while delivering a reliable, passenger-focused experience.”