Ontario International Airport is the second-largest airport in Los Angeles, just behind Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). It is served by Aeromexico, Alaska Airlines, America West, American Airlines, ATA, Azteca, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, ExpressJet, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, United Express, and US Airways.
Located approximately 35 miles from Los Angeles, the airport offers a less-crowded alternative to LAX while still giving passengers and visitors the convenience of easy access to Southern California. San Bernardino, Riverside, Temecula, and other cities are within a short distance from the airport.
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A number of parking options are available at ONT airport for the convenience of travelers and visitors. Daily parking lots are available for travelers who need to park for one day or for an overnight trip. Economy lots are available as a long-term parking option. Lots 2 and 4 offer electric vehicle charging stations for electric vehicles. Oversized vehicles are not allowed to park in airport lots and will be towed.
Long Term Parking - Travelers who are making an overnight trip may park in one of the daily lots at ONT or use Economy Lot F. Economy lot F is about a mile from the airport, but there is a free shuttle that picks up passenger and drops them off at the terminals.
Discount Airport Parking - Discounted parking rates are available in Economy Lot F. While this lot is located about one mile from the airport, a free shuttle service comes by every 10 to 12 minutes to transport airline travelers and airport visitors from the lot to the terminals. The discounted price may outweigh the convenience of parking a mile from the airport.
Handicapped Parking - Handicapped parking is available in all of the parking areas at ONT airport. The handicapped spaces are located closest to accessible walkways so that handicapped travelers have an easier time accessing the terminals. Anyone parking on a handicapped space must have a decal, placard, or license play designated their vehicle as one used to transport a handicapped person.
Ontario International Airport (IATA: ONT, ICAO: KONT, FAA LID: ONT), (formerly Ontario International Airport) is a public airport located two miles (3 km) east of the central business district (CBD) of Ontario, a city in San Bernardino County, California, USA. This airport is owned and operated by the Los Angeles World Airports, an agency of the City of Los Angeles. There were 7,049,904 passengers in 2006. [1]
The airport is dominated by Southwest Airlines who carried 49.38% of passengers in 2007. The other four airlines in the top five were United Airlines/ United Express (8.64%), Delta Airlines (7.93%), US Airways (7.08%), and American Airlines (6.18%). Expressjet operates a hub at the airport and carried 5.45% of passengers.
The airport was originally built by one of the first flying clubs in southern California, The Friends of Ontario Airport, and dates back to 1923, when 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 located next to the airstrip. In 1929 the city of Ontario purchased a 30 acre tract in the southwest corner of the present airport for $12,000 and established the Ontario Municipal Airport.
In 1941 the city purchased 470 acres (2 km²) surrounding the airport and approved construction of new runways, which were completed by 1942. On February 27, an Army Air Corps plane made the first landing. By 1943, during World War II, the airport was earmarked as an Army Air Corps P-38 training base and P-59 operating base.
In 1946, Ontario Municipal Airport was renamed "Ontario International Airport" because of transpacific cargo flights originating from the facility.
In 1974, Ontario was the only Riverside-San Bernardino Area airport to host the Concorde supersonic aircraft as it made its promotional around-the-world flights in October of that year.
In 1981, a new, second east-to-west runway, 26L/8R, was built, necessitating the removal of the old northeast-to-southwest runway, 4/22. Remnants of the former 4/22 runway are still visible in the present-day taxiways. With the completion of the new east-to-west runway, the existing Runway 27/9 was renamed to 26R/8L.
In 1987, Runway 26R/8L was extended to the east so the runway's thresholds could be corresponding to runway 26L/8R thesholds in order for aircraft to fly higher over neighborhoods. This also made 26R/8L the main departing runway and 26L/8R the main arrival runway.
In 1998, the airport's new terminal complex opened.
In 2005-2006, Runway 26R/8L was repaved, got storm drains, strengthened, and more proficient runway lighting including centerline lights were added. Taxiways D, S, R, U, and W were widened, and better taxiways and runway outlines were also added.
In 2006, Ontario International Airport became Ontario International Airport. The "LA" portion was added to make Ontario Airport geographically relevant to Los Angeles and to avoid confusion with Ontario, Canada[2].
Present-day operations
The airport covers 1,700 acres (6.9 km²) and has two runways. It is the second major international airport in the area after Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Ontario International Airport is typically 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. Ontario International Airport also serves as a hub for the independent operations of ExpressJet Airlines, which began service to 14 destinations in April 2007.
Thanks to Ontario's long runways (runway 8L/26R is longer than any of those at LAX), it is often used as an alternate landing site for large aircraft when LAX is inaccessible due to weather conditions or other reasons. It is a particularly important alternate airport since there are many trans-Pacific flights headed to LAX which may not have enough fuel left after the long journey to reach other major airports. However, due to Ontario's relatively small customs facilities and limited options for connecting flights, such rerouted flights typically do not disembark passengers in Ontario. Instead, the airport is usually used to refuel the aircraft, which then take off again for a short flight to LAX once landing conditions there have improved.
The airport is located approximately 38 miles (61 km) east of Downtown Los Angeles and 22 miles (35 km) west of downtown San Bernardino. Motorists can either use the San Bernardino Freeway (Interstate 10), Ontario Freeway (Interstate 15), or the Pomona Freeway (State Route 60) to access the airport. It is also served by Omnitrans bus route 61, and by private shuttles, though most passengers drive or are picked up at the airport.
By the end of 2006 Ontario International Airport was renamed to Ontario International Airport in order to entice travelers from the already over-trafficked Los Angeles International Airport and also to reduce confusion with Ontario, Canada. Ontario Airport is owned by the City of Los Angeles (LA World Airports)
Ontario has few noise restrictions/abatement rules unlike other Southern California airports such as John Wayne Airport, Bob Hope Airport, and Long Beach Airport which all have very strict policies. The airport is allowed to operate 24/7 but during the hours of 10pm through 7am all aircraft must arrive from the east on runway 26L and take-off to the east on runway 8L unless the weather has heavy winds blowing in the opposite direction or there is construction occurring that results in one runway not being able to be used. All aircraft must also depart from the very ends of the runway allowing aircraft to fly higher over neighborhoods.
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 really 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.
The old Ontario Airport had two terminals: the main terminal and a small terminal for Delta Air Lines and SkyWest. The old terminals are west of the current terminals and are visible when landing. The old flight 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 more modern jetway system. The old terminals are currently used to shoot airport scenes in movies and on television. They were used as an interior stand-in for the Los Angeles airport on the LAX TV series, and used for a key plot development on the fifth season of the series 24. The interior and exterior of Terminal 1 and the adjacent parking lot were used to portray a 1960s version of Miami International Airport in Catch Me If You Can. Other film productions utilizing the original airport buildings and locations include Blow (2001),The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Back Street (1961), The Counterfeit Killer (1968), and Zodiac (2007). The old terminals will be torn down when the new Terminal 1 is constructed.
There is discounted parking located outside the old terminal and at a remote location on the west end of the airport. On the east end, a ground transportation center is provided that consolidates all the rental car companies serving the airport in one central location. A circulator bus circles the airport and provides connections to each of the other terminals, rental car and remote parking lots, and the 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, Cable Airport in Upland, or Rialto Municipal Airport.
