IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Ontario may have some hope in its ongoing battle to wrest control of Ontario International Airport away from its owner, the city of Los Angeles.
During a radio interview Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he’s willing to return control of the airport to Ontario if Ontario reimburses Los Angeles for what it has spent on the airport.
Garcetti did not say how much Ontario would have to pay, and no doubt that amount could become a point of contention between the two cities. Still, Garcetti’s conciliatory comments are good news for Ontario and the rest of the Inland Empire, said regional economist John Husing.
“That’s the real issue, how much would Ontario have to pay,” said Husing, a strident critic of the deterioration of the airport under the ownership of Los Angeles World Airports, the agency that also owns Los Angeles International Airport. “A lot of that money came from the [Federal Aviation Administration], and there’s also a question of how much Los Angeles put in.
“I don’t know how much Ontario would have to come up, but it is encouraging to hear the mayor say that.”
Flights and passenger traffic dropped to mid-1980s levels during the recession, and Ontario has been trying to get control of the airport since 2010. Ontario has accused LAWA of pouring most of its time and resources into Los Angeles International at the expense of Ontario International.
Two years ago, Ontario filed a lawsuit against LAWA, the city of Los Angeles and the Board of Airport Commissioners. That suit is being heard in Riverside Superior Court.
