IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Ontario and Los Angeles have reached an agreement that will return control of Ontario International Airport to Ontario.
Both parties reached an agreement Wednesday under which ownership of the airport will be transferred to the Ontario International Airport Authority, an organization that was established three years ago in case such a transfer was ever reached, according to multiple reports.
Terms of the agreement reportedly include reimbursements to Los Angeles – which owns and operates Ontario International and Los Angeles International airports – for investments it has made in the property, and job protections for the airport’s employees, the reports stated.
How much Los Angeles will be reimbursed has not been released.
Several local boards, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration, still must approve the agreement. That process is expected to be completed during the fall of next year.
Los Angeles has operated Ontario International since 1967, the year the facility opened, under a joint powers agreement, and it assumed ownership in 1985. Los Angeles World Airports, or LAWA, a city agency, has been in charge of the airport.
Passenger traffic has fallen to mid-1980s levels during the past few years, prompting Ontario to file a lawsuit in 2013 to get control of the airport.
That case was scheduled to go to trial later this month.
Los Angeles and Ontario officials are scheduled to appear at a news conference today to discuss details of the agreement.
