More than 12 million flew through Oakland International in 2016

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle A jet takes off over the original levees that surround Oakland...

More than 12 million passengers flew through Oakland International Airport in 2016, according to the airport’s annual report released Monday.

The 12,070,967 passengers that flew to or from Oakland marked a nearly 9 percent increase from the 2015 total of 11,205,063, according to the airport.

Oakland International, which lags behind its neighbor across the bay, San Francisco International in terms of size and traffic, added a number of new routes servicing European destinations, which explains in part the increase in passengers, officials said.

Bryant Francis, director of aviation for the Port of Oakland, which manages the airport, said it’s a “growing gateway” to the world, with six new destinations announced for 2017 so far.

The airport now has more than 60 direct destinations — including, in Europe, Copenhagen and Barcelona — split across 13 airlines.

It was the busiest year for the airport since 2007, when there were 14.6 million passengers, officials said.

Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michael_bodley