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Ontario International Airport

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This article is about an airport in California, United States. For airports in Ontario, Canada, see List of airports in Ontario.
LA/Ontario International Airport
File:Ont logo.svg
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerLos Angeles World Airports
OperatorLos Angeles World Airports
ServesOntario, California / Inland Empire, California
LocationOntario, California
Hub forUPS Airlines
Elevation AMSL944 ft / 288 m
Websitewww.lawa.org/ont
Map
ONT is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
ONT
ONT
Location within the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8L/26R 12,197 3,718 Concrete
8R/26L 10,200 3,109 Concrete
Statistics (2006, 2010)
Aircraft operations (2006)136,410
Based aircraft (2006)25
Passengers (2010)4,812,006

LA/Ontario International Airport (IATA: ONT, ICAO: KONT, FAA LID: ONT), formerly and still commonly known as Ontario International Airport, is a public airport two miles east of downtown Ontario, a city in San Bernardino County, California, USA. It is owned and operated by the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), an agency of the city of Los Angeles. In 2008, 6.2 million passengers used the airport, 13.5% less than 2007.[2] The April 2011 passenger volume was down 4.6% than the year previous.[3]

In early 2011 Southwest Airlines carried 54% of the passengers.[3]

For a number of years, the airport operated alongside Ontario Air National Guard Station, which was closed as a result of the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

History

  • 1923: A landing field was established east of Central Avenue (three miles west of the current airport) on land leased from the Union Pacific Railroad. The airfield was named Latimer Field in honor of an orange-packing company next to the airstrip. An airport was built there by one of the first flying clubs in southern California, The Friends of Ontario Airport.
  • 1929: The city of Ontario purchased 30 acres in the southwest corner of the present airport for $12,000 and established Ontario Municipal Airport.
  • 1941: The city bought 470 acres (190 ha) around the airport and approved construction of new runways, which were completed by 1942, with funds from the Works Progress Administration. The 6,200' east/west runway and the 4,700' northeast/southwest runway cost $350,000.[4]
  • 27 February 1942: An Army Air Corps plane made the first landing.
  • 1943: By now the airport was an Army Air Corps P-38 training base and P-59 operating base.
  • 1946 Ontario Municipal Airport was renamed "Ontario International Airport" because of transpacific cargo flights originating from the facility.
  • 1949: Western Airlines began scheduled flights.
  • 1955: First Bonanza Air Lines flights. Western and Bonanza nonstops did not reach beyond Las Vegas. [5] has airport diagram for 1955.
  • 1962: Western began nonstop flights to San Francisco (one Electra daily).
  • 1966: [1] has airport diagram for 1966.
  • 1967: Bonanza began nonstop F27s to Phoenix. Ontario and Los Angeles entered into a joint powers agreement, making Ontario International Airport part of the Los Angeles regional airports system.
  • 1968: First scheduled jets.
  • 1969: Continental Airlines started 720B nonstops to Denver and Chicago; Air California started 737s to San Jose; and Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) started San Francisco flights; Western began 737 nonstops to Sacramento and Salt Lake City.
  • 1970: United Airlines started a nonstop to Chicago and American started Dallas (and Chicago, for a short time).
  • October 1974: Ontario hosted the Concorde supersonic airliner making a promotional round-the-world flight.
  • 1981: A second east-west runway, 26L/8R, was built, necessitating the removal of the old NE-SW runway 4/22. Remnants of the 4/22 runway are visible in the present-day taxiways. With the completion of the new runway existing Runway 25/7 became 26R/8L.
  • 1985 the city of Los Angeles acquired Ontario International Airport outright from the city of Ontario.
  • 1987: Runway 26R/8L was extended to the east to bring the two runway thresholds side by side, so aircraft would be higher over neighborhoods. 26R/8L became the main departing runway and 26L/8R the main arrival runway.
  • 1998: New terminal designed by DMJM Aviation opened.[6]
  • 2005-2006: Runway 26R/8L was repaved, received storm drains, strengthened, and better runway lighting including centerline lights were added. Taxiways D, S, R, U, and W were widened, and better taxiways and runway outlines were added. Aeroméxico started seasonal flights to Guadalajara and Mexico City, the only international flights from/to Ontario.
  • 2006: Ontario International Airport became LA/Ontario International Airport. The "LA" portion was added to remind fliers of Los Angeles and to avoid confusion with the province of Ontario in Canada.[7]
  • 2007: Southwest Airlines carried 49.38% of the airport's passengers. In the top five were: United Airlines/United Express (8.64%); Delta Air Lines (7.93%); US Airways (7.08%); and American Airlines (6.18%).

UPS uses the airport for packages to and from Southern California. ExpressJet formerly had a hub at the airport.

Present-day operations

Runway layout at ONT

The airport covers 1,700 acres (690 ha) and has two runways. It is the third major airport in the area after Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and John Wayne Airport (SNA). LA/Ontario International Airport is less crowded than LAX; according to Forbes.com it is one of the five best alternate airports in America. It is the West Coast air and truck hub for UPS and is a major distribution point for FedEx Express. LA/Ontario International Airport was a hub for ExpressJet, which began service to 14 destinations in April 2007. This service ended on September 2, 2008.[8]

Thanks to Ontario's long runways (runway 8L/26R is longer than any at LAX), it is often an alternate landing site for large aircraft destined LAX. Due to Ontario's small customs facilities and limited connecting flights, such flights typically do not disembark passengers at Ontario. The aircraft is refuelled and departs to LAX.

The airport is about 38 miles (61 km) east of downtown Los Angeles, 18 miles (29 km) west of downtown San Bernardino and 14 miles (23 km) northwest of downtown Riverside. Motorists can use the San Bernardino Freeway (Interstate 10), Ontario Freeway (Interstate 15), or the Pomona Freeway (State Route 60). It is served by Omnitrans bus route 61 and by private shuttles.

By the end of 2006 Ontario International Airport was renamed LA/Ontario International Airport to entice travelers from the Los Angeles International Airport and to reduce confusion with Ontario, Canada. LA/Ontario Airport is owned by the city of Los Angeles (LA World Airports) ONT currently has more than 64 daily departures and arrivals.

Ownership and control of the airport became an issue in late 2010 when the city of Ontario, supported by the Southern California Association of Governments, criticized and questioned LAWA's operation of the airport.[9][10][11]

Noise restrictions

LA/Ontario has few noise restrictions/abatement rules unlike other Southern California airports such as John Wayne Airport, Bob Hope Airport, Long Beach Airport, and San Diego International Airport which all have very strict policies. The airport is allowed to operate 24/7, but during the hours of 10pm to 7am all aircraft must arrive from the east on runway 26L or 26R and take-off to the east on runway 8R or 8L depending on ATC instruction. This procedure is known as "Contra-Flow" operations and applies to turbo-jet or turbo-fan aircraft. This procedure is similar to the one employed by Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in which aircraft arrive from the west and depart to the west (known as "over-ocean" operations) between midnight and 6:30 a.m. Both of these procedures are employed as long as weather and/or construction activity permits. This is done in an effort to be better neighbors and minimize the noise impact to the surrounding communities as much as possible. As of 8/6/2012 the FAA has suspended all airports from doing the opposite end take-offs and landings. Because of this Ontario's 10pm to 7am operations now take off and land in the same direction.

Terminals

LA/Ontario International Airport has three terminals. The terminal numbering scheme is designed to accommodate future growth. The airport's master plan calls for five terminals to be spaced adjacent to and in between the existing Terminals 2 and 4. The "international terminal" (which is a small building designed primarily to segregate arriving international passengers to clear customs) would be razed and be part of the new Terminal 1. One terminal would be dedicated exclusively to Southwest Airlines and the other to United Airlines, while the other airlines would share the remaining terminals.

Terminal 2 has 265,000 square feet (24,600 m2) and 12 gates (201 - 212). Terminal 4 has 265,000 square feet (24,600 m2) and 14 gates (401 - 414). The International terminal has 2 gates.

The old Ontario Airport had two terminals: the main terminal and a small terminal for Delta Air Lines and SkyWest Airlines. The old terminals are west of the current terminals. The old control tower is still used as an auxiliary tower. The previous design was of the traditional walk-up type with only one jetway gate; the new terminals use the modern jetway system. The old terminals currently house the administration and the USO. The old terminals will be demolished when the new Terminal 1 is constructed.

Remote parking is located on the east end of the airport (moved from its former location at the west end). On the east end is a ground transportation center that consolidates the rental car companies in one central location. A circulator bus circles the airport and provides connections to each of the terminals, rental car and remote parking lots, and public transit stops.

General aviation is located at the south side of the airport, although most general aviation pilots tend to use a number of nearby airports: Redlands Airport, Chino Airport, Brackett Airport in La Verne, Cable Airport in Upland, or Rialto Municipal Airport.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinationsTerminal
Aeromexico Guadalajara 2
Alaska Airlines Seattle/Tacoma 2
Alaska Airlines
operated by SkyWest Airlines 		Portland (OR) 2
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth 4
Delta Air Lines Salt Lake City 2
Delta Connection
operated by SkyWest Airlines 		Salt Lake City 2
Southwest Airlines Chicago-Midway, Denver, Las Vegas, Oakland, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Jose (CA)
Seasonal: Reno/Tahoe 		4
United Airlines Denver, Houston-Intercontinental 2
United Express
operated by SkyWest Airlines 		Denver, Houston-Intercontinental, San Francisco 2
US Airways Phoenix 4
US Airways Express
operated by Mesa Airlines 		Phoenix 4

Traffic and statistics

Busiest domestic routes from Ontario (February 2012-January 2013) [12]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1. Phoenix, Arizona 370,000 Southwest, US Airways
2. Oakland, California 221,000 Southwest
3. Sacramento, California 209,000 Southwest
4. Las Vegas, Nevada 187,000 Southwest
5. Dallas, Texas 177,000 American
6. Denver, Colorado 166,000 Southwest, United
7 Seattle, Washington 135,000 Alaska
8 San Jose, California 134,000 Southwest
9 Houston, Texas (IAH) 103,000 United
10 Salt Lake City, Utah 95,000 Delta

Cargo operations

Ontario is a major southwestern gateway hub for UPS. Over 200 pilots are based at the Ontario hub. LA/ONT is the United Parcel Service's (UPS) Western Region hub for both air and trucking operations within a 13-state region. In addition to serving intra-regional traffic, the hub links UPS's global hub in Louisville. The Ontario hub processes inbound UPS Next Day Air and UPS 2nd Day Air packages destined for Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, San Diego, Riverside and Ventura counties. It provides outbound package delivery service from homes and businesses in the Inland Valley for delivery to destinations around the world. ONT serves as gateway for UPS' cargo flights to and from China. The Ontario facility sorts and distributes a majority of UPS international packages bound for delivery to the Pacific Rim. Four of the six direct weekly flights flown by UPS to China originate at the Ontario hub

Popular culture

  • In 1946, an airplane "graveyard" located at the airport, containing surplus and retired aircraft from the recent war, was used for a memorable scene in the Samuel Goldwyn film The Best Years of Our Lives.
  • In 1961, the exterior terminal building portrayed "Lincoln Airport" in the film Back Street starring Susan Hayward and John Gavin.
  • In 1968 the airport was utilized for the film The Counterfeit Killer, starring Jack Lord and Shirley Knight.
  • In 2001 the airport was utilized for the film Blow.
  • The interior and exterior of Terminal 1 and the adjacent parking lot were used to portray a 1960s version of Miami International Airport in the 2002 motion picture Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.
  • The old Ontario terminals were used as an interior stand-in for Los Angeles International Airport on the 2004-2006 television series LAX.
  • In January 2006, LA/Ontario Airport was featured, by name, in Season 5 of the television drama series 24, in which terrorists took control of the airport (then known as Ontario Airport) and took several hostages.
  • The airport and its original terminal building were featured in the final scenes of the 2007 film Zodiac.
  • The episode Goodbye, Michael of The Office (2011) utilized one of the unused (new) interior terminals.
  • Parts of the series Pan-Am (2012-2013) used the interior ticket area of the old airport
  • The final scenes of Argo (2012), were filmed in the interior of the terminal of the old building. This was made to represent the Tehran airport.
  • At least one of the scenes of the up-coming movie Saving Mr. Banks (Disney, 2013) utilizes the exterior of the old airport to represent Los Angeles in the early 1960s

See also

References

  1. ^ FAA Airport Form 5010 for ONT PDF, effective 2007-12-20
  2. ^ ONT passenger statistics for 2008
  3. ^ a b Parks, Mary (27 May 2011). "Traffic Drops at Ontario International Airport". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Ontario Air National Guard Station". California State Military Museum. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  5. ^ Tutte le dimensioni |Ontario1955_0001 | Flickr – Condivisione di foto!. Flickr.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  6. ^ Architectural Glass Design
  7. ^ Passenger growth at Ontario airport stagnant | Business | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California
  8. ^ Hamilton, Dane (9 July 2008). "ExpressJet suspends commercial operations". Reuters.
  9. ^ Locals Want to Run Ontario Airport, KNBC-TV
  10. ^ Ontario: L.A. should relinquish control of Ontario Airport, Daily Breeze
  11. ^ Regional support for Inland control of Ontario airport, The BizPress
  12. ^ "RITA | BTS | Transtats". Transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved July 11, 2011, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

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