Hey, let’s bail out Bay Area airports next
The Mercury News reports that passenger traffic at airports is sinking--with SJC and OAK getting the worst of the downturn. How long before city officials call for a bailout, and promulgate yet another round of doomsday scenarios if we don't pony up more taxes?
All three of the major Bay Area airports saw a decline in passenger trips in August as prominent events in the region, like the World Cup, ended in July, new reports show.
San Jose Mineta International Airport handled just under 865,000 passengers in August, down 11.2% from the same month in 2025 and down 7.4% from July.
Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport saw roughly 684,300 passengers in August, down 15.6% from 2025 and down 3.8% from July.
San Francisco International Airport had about 5.03 million passengers in August, up 4.1% from the same month in 2025, but down 5.2% from July.
Over a year-long period, both the San Jose and Oakland airports are showing declines. San Francisco is trending up.
Despite positive signs for San Francisco International Airport, all three of the region’s major air hubs have yet to climb back to the altitudes they had reached in 2019, the last full year before the start of wide-ranging pandemic-linked business shutdowns and travel restrictions.
Wait, we thought we needed HSR because our airports were overcrowded
One of the biggest arguments for California high-speed rail was that we were running out of airport capacity between the Bay Area and SoCal.
It was based on the now discredited projections that California would reach 50-60 million population mid-century.
We now see, at least at OAK, plenty of space airport capacity.—Marc Joffe on X
Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity
We prize letters from our thoughtful readers. Typed on a Smith Corona. Written in longhand on fine stationery. Scribbled on a napkin. Hey, even composed on email. Feel free to send your comments to us at opportunitynowsv@gmail.com or (snail mail) 1590 Calaveras Ave., SJ, CA 95126. Remember to be thoughtful and polite. We will post letters on an irregular basis on the main Opp Now site.