San Jose airport sees slow rebound in air travel.
Facility adds wide array of measures to combat coronavirus
San Jose International Airport is experiencing a steady rebound in air travel, the city’s aviation director said Wednesday, just as the facility has dramatically intensified its efforts to combat the coronavirus.
Prior to the business shutdowns ordered by state and local government agencies, San Jose airport typically averaged about 20,000 to 25,000 passengers daily traveling through TSA checkpoints, airport director John Aitken said Wednesday in an interview.
But during the low points of April, trips through the San Jose International Airport checkpoints plunged to around 460 daily, Aitken said.
Things have improved considerably since then. “We are way off our normal of 25,000, but it is a big improvement since the shutdown in April,” Aitken said.
In recent days, the trips through the TSA checkpoints were more than 3,000 a day, Aitken estimated. On Wednesday, the number was expected to be in the 4,400 range. The airport predicts that passenger transits through the TSA
gates should be around 6,000 on Thursday heading into the Independence Day weekend.
“Things are definitely on an uptick,” Aitken said.
Airport workers and managers, as well as TSA workers, are constantly sanitizing high-contact, frequenttouch areas and modules, such as conveyor belts at the TSA checkpoints, trays for personal belongings, ticket booths, and counters.
“We are constantly cleaning,” said Joe Rodrigues, a TSA federal security director at San Jose airport. “Cleaning of conveyor belts can occur every 10 minutes. Every chance we have we will clean.”
Plus, hand sanitizers and safety warnings such as social
distancing signs and reminders to wear masks are almost as ubiquitous as slot machines in a Las Vegas casino.
“It’s good to see the safety measures and all the hand sanitizers,” said Priscilla Gongora, a San Francisco resident. “It’s about the same as always, except for all the hand sanitizers.”
Airport employees are manufacturing custommade plexiglass shields and hand sanitizer stations at the San Jose aviation hub.
Plus, an estimated 330 safety decals have been deployed through the complex, said Graham Ritz, airport operations supervisor in terminal management.
San Jose airport custodians use an electrostatic sprayer daily to clean hardto-reach areas. Among those: spaces between seats and keyboards at ticket
counters.
“We are really comfortable,” said Kelly Shoemake, a San Jose resident who was traveling Wednesday to Chicago with her daughters Makala Shoemake and Riley Shoemake.
Prior to Wednesday’s journey to Chicago, Shoemake said she hadn’t traveled by air during 2020. She had scheduled a trip for last week, then canceled because became nervous about flying. Those worries are now banished.
“I don’t have safety concerns now,” Shoemake said. “The airport seems the same except for the masks and all the hand sanitizers.”
Even with the improvement in air passenger activity through San Jose airport, this year still appears headed for a disastrous level of trips, according to projections supplied by Aitken.
Even after the 9/11 terrorist
attacks, about 10 million people traveled through San Jose airport, measured by the combination of arrivals and departures, a decline from roughly 13.5 million during 2000.
During 2019, about 15.7 million passengers traveled through San Jose International Airport. This year, about 7 million to 8 million people are expected to travel through the South Bay aviation hub, Aitken projected.
Aitken said he is looking forward to seeing an ongoing improvement in passengers going through the airport.
“It’s exciting to see people traveling again,” Aitken said. “It’s nice to see people out and going through the facility.”