Ontario Airport

A thick fog rolled over Southern California's inland valleys today, temporarily stranding 2,000 travelers at Ontario International Airport when runways were closed because of limited visibility. An America West jet turned back to Phoenix, and all departing flights were grounded from the airport's opening at 7 a.m. until just before 11 a.m., said Michael DiGirolamo, airport manager at Ontario International. No jets were able to land in the morning.

Los Angeles airport commissioners took additional steps Tuesday to halt a dramatic decline in passengers at LA/Ontario International Airport, including potential cost reductions for airlines and incentives that might encourage them to add service. Inland Empire officials, who are trying to wrest control of Ontario from Los Angeles, immediately criticized the measures, saying that they were too little and too late to lure flights back to what used to be one of the fastest-growing regional airports in the nation.

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday decided to oppose state legislation that would shift control of L.A./Ontario International Airport from the city of L.A. to an authority made up of Inland Empire officials. Council members voted 11 to 0 against a pending bill by Sen. Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga), that would transfer management responsibilities from Los Angeles World Airports to an authority made up of four directors from Ontario and three from San Bernardino County. As the proposal is written, Los Angeles would not have a representative on the authority's board, though the city would still own the airport.

Re "Move the runway already," Editorial, April 28 The Times' nonsensical editorial advocating moving the northernmost runway at Los Angeles International Airport 260 feet closer to Westchester gives no cogent reasons for its position. The message is "just do it. " History? It doesn't matter to The Times that in the late 1960s and early '70s, Westchester lost much of its downtown and thousands of homes and residents to LAX expansion. Also unmentioned is the onetime official plan to develop the "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport" after LAX reached 40 million annual passengers (it served more than 60 million last year)

Alaska Airlines' convoluted exercise of departing John Wayne Airport within prescribed weight limits, then landing at Ontario Airport to take on fuel, is tantamount to exporting garbage to a neighboring state ("Refueling Stop Is Airline's Weight-Reduction Secret," Sept. 26). Not only does this machination transfer the noise of an unnecessary arrival and departure to the Ontario area, but it is blatantly wasteful of fuel and frivolously exposes the passengers to the slight safety risk of an unproductive landing and takeoff at Ontario.

A Metrolink train heading from Los Angeles to Riverside on Thursday hit and killed a pedestrian who was walking on the tracks near Ontario International Airport, a Metrolink spokesman said. It was not known whether the person who had been walking between the rails near Bon View Avenue and Mission Boulevard was a man or woman. The pedestrian was thrown about 250 feet by the impact with the 100-ton train about 6:15 p.m., said Peter Hidalgo, a Metrolink spokesman.

At a time when minority participation in city contracts is undergoing intense scrutiny, the Los Angeles Airport Commission unanimously approved a one-year extension of a controversial concession contract with Host International, the major concessionaire at Ontario International Airport.

Following through on a closely watched campaign pledge, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn on Monday called on the city's new Airport Commission to lower landing and parking fees and to create a shuttle service to redirect passengers and flights from overcrowded Los Angeles International Airport to the growing airport in Ontario.

The city of Ontario and San Bernardino County plan to establish a new governing body for L.A./Ontario International Airport - another step in the effort to wrest control of the struggling facility from Los Angeles. The Ontario City Council is expected to approve formation of the Ontario International Airport Authority on Tuesday, City Manager Chris Hughes said. San Bernardino County Chief Executive Officer Greg Devereaux said the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to follow suit a week later.

Ramada Inc. will build a seven-story, 300-room hotel on a five-acre site the firm has just purchased in Centrelake, a 70-acre mixed-use business park next to the Ontario International Airport. Ground breaking is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year, according to Michael L. Loban, vice president, commercial/industrial real estate for the Sickels Group developer of Centrelake. The $20-million hotel will be built in two phases. When completed, they will form a "T" shape.

The city officials who run Los Angeles International Airport have been trying for what seems like forever to move the north runway 260 feet closer to the boundary separating the airport from the community of Westchester. The move would put more space between the two main runways and allow pilots to use a central taxiway without risking collision. When the City Council takes up the matter this week, it should complete this chapter of the long, sorry saga of neighborhood versus airport and approve the north runway move.

A man who tried to saw his arms off in a West Covina Home Depot bled all over the store and was on the brink of death before he was rescued, a first-responder said. Art Hurtado, an off-duty Pasadena paramedic who was at the store, was the first medic on scene to help police. “Found him face down, blood all over the store, multiple aisles,” Hurtado told NBC4. “Barely had a pulse and he was just barely breathing.” West Covina police say the man calmly, quietly walked into Home Depot before 1 p.m. Wednesday and headed to the hardware section where the saws are. “He walked into the saw area and began cutting both of his arms,” said Cpl. Rudy Lopez.

Los Angeles City Administrative Officer Miguel A. Santana said Thursday he was shocked by a legal claim filed by an Inland Empire group attempting to gain control of L.A./Ontario International Airport. Santana, who has been moderating talks over a possible airport transfer, said he thought the parties were having productive discussions. The legal action, he said, could undermine further efforts to reach a deal. “It violates the spirit of the negotiations,” Santana said. “We've spent a lot of time and resources to set up a fair process.

Inland Empire officials on Thursday morning lodged a legal claim against Los Angeles in an attempt to force the city to hand them control of L.A./Ontario International Airport, which has been in serious decline. The city of Ontario filed the claim -- the first step toward bringing a lawsuit -- a day after rejecting Los Angeles World Airports' offer to sell the once popular aviation hub for almost $475 million. Negotiations have been underway for several months. In addition to the transfer of ownership,  the action seeks to terminate a 1967 joint powers agreement in which the Los Angeles airport department became the operator of Ontario on the condition that it improve the facility.

A controversial plan to separate the two northern runways at Los Angeles International Airport by 260 feet advanced last week when airport staff recommended the proposal for further environmental review over other runway options. The recommendation, if approved by L.A.'s Board of Airport Commissioners, could set the stage for more battles over the modernization of LAX, which has been delayed for decades by lawsuits, community opposition and the changing visions of mayoral administrations.

The city of Los Angeles should continue negotiating with government officials from the Inland Empire to determine if there is a way to transfer control of L.A./Ontario International Airport to them, a new report recommended Friday. The report by Miguel Santana, the chief administrative officer for Los Angeles, also concluded that a December 2011 proposal by Ontario municipal officials to take over the struggling airport should be declined. Researchers said that the deal could result in the illegal diversion of $50 million in airport revenue to the city, instead of Los Angeles World Airports, which operates Ontario, Los Angeles International Airport and Van Nuys Airport.

As expected, growing retail giant Pier 1 Imports has committed to one of the biggest industrial real estate leases ever in the distribution hub surrounding Ontario International Airport. The Fort Worth, Texas-based home furnishings retailer signed a 15-year deal for a 750,000-square-foot "build-to-suit" regional distribution center within developer Lennar Partners' Philadelphia Place mixed-use business park in Ontario.

Five suspected "coyotes" and 36 more aliens were arrested in the crackdown on the smuggling of illegal immigrants aboard commercial airliners, authorities said Friday. Immigration agents arrested four smugglers, all Mexican males, at Los Angeles International Airport late Thursday and early Friday as the men drove up to the airport in three vehicles containing 10 of the aliens, said Ernest Gustafson, district director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The city of Ontario and San Bernardino County plan to establish a new governing body for L.A./Ontario International Airport - another step in the effort to wrest control of the struggling facility from Los Angeles. The Ontario City Council is expected to approve formation of the Ontario International Airport Authority on Tuesday, City Manager Chris Hughes said. San Bernardino County Chief Executive Officer Greg Devereaux said the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to follow suit a week later.

Some days, the terminals at L.A./Ontario International Airport can be as quiet as a ghost town. The number of passengers using the airport - about 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles - has dropped from 6.8 million passengers in 2007 to about 4.4 million in 2011, according to federal statistics. In January, passenger traffic dropped 7.4% compared with the same month in 2011. Passenger numbers have also dropped, although less dramatically, at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana. In contrast, Long Beach International Airport - about 20 miles south of L.A. - continues to grow, serving more than 3 million passengers last year, a 7% increase over 2007, with growth continuing in 2012.