JWA holiday passengers fewer in numbers

John Wayne Airport transported fewer passengers before and after Thanksgiving this year than it did the year before, but a spokeswoman said the drop-off mattered little because the airport was going through its busiest time in history.

Between Nov. 18 and Nov. 26, a total of 235,541 passengers arrived or departed from John Wayne Airport, according to spokeswoman Jenny Wedge. She said the number fell short of last year’s total, when 248,908 people passed through the airport during their holiday travel.

Wedge added that the airport had seen a record number of passengers so far this year, Thanksgiving notwithstanding.

“Whether or not people chose different ways to travel or more people stayed home, it’s kind of hard to say,” she said.

The busiest day was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when 33,952 people moved through John Wayne Airport, followed by Monday, when another 32,549 returned home. The numbers on both days were nearly identical a year ago: 33,108 passengers on Sunday, 33,212 on Monday.

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.