Airport battle could take new twist in wake of passenger drop

The next meeting between Los Angeles World Airports, the agency that owns and operates Ontario International Airport, and the Inland Empire officials who are trying to get control of the airport away from them should be an interesting discussion.

LAWA officials will have to explain why passenger traffic at the airport dropped eight percent during 2013, and why the number of passengers who used the airport last year dropped below four million for the first time since 1985.

Those numbers, which LAWA released Monday, would appear to be solid arguments for transferring control of the airport to an Inland Empire-based entity. The airport is vital to the region’s economic growth, and it can’t continue losing eight percent of its clientele every year and expect to survive.

But several members of the Ontario Airport Alliance, which is trying to get control of the airport away from the city of Los Angeles, aren’t sure how the passenger drop will change the negotiations between the two parties.

“I hope this puts enough pressure on LAWA so that we can finally say ‘enough is enough,’ but I’m not sure that’s going to happen,” said Steve PonTell, a local businessman and a member of the alliance’s board of directors. “There are so many things that have to be done, and LAWA clearly hasn’t met its responsibilities as a joint powers authority. It’s in their best interest to divert passengers away from Ontario and into Los Angeles International Airport.”

LAWA has blamed the problems at Ontario International on the recession, saying the severe economic slowdown has forced airlines to cut back on flights there.

Both LAWA and members of the alliance are scheduled to meet Feb. 12 in Riverside, said Steve Lambert, also a member of the alliance’s board of directors.

Lambert acknowledged that a judge might side with the alliance in the wake of the eight percent drop in passenger traffic, but said he and other board members still hope to resolve the matter out of court.

“I don’t think it necessarily helps our cause,” Lambert said. “It could be a blessing, because it clearly says that LAWA isn’t working, but a judge isn’t going to look at it only from the business standpoint. A judge has to look at the legal aspects.”

Maybe the best way to win the battle is to make the airport a regional issue and not just an Inland Empire issue, Lambert said.

“The problems with the airport aren’t specific to Ontario,” Lambert said. “They involve the Inland Empire, but they also involve the San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County and all of Southern California.”