The number of passengers at LA/Ontario International Airport fell by an unprecedented 31 percent in January compared with the same month last year, according to new figures reported Tuesday.
At Los Angeles International Airport, the number of domestic passengers fell almost 10 percent from last year, while international travelers dropped by more than 14 percent despite heavily discounted airfares at home and abroad, the Los Angeles Times reported.
What is happening at Ontario "is not surprising to me. We have a tough situation, no doubt about it," Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, which operates LAX, Ontario and Van Nuys Airport told The Times.
Ontario International used to be one of the region’s fastest-growing airports and a cornerstone of a policy to regionalize air travel by spreading the growth in passengers from busy LAX to other Southland airports. But in the last year, five airlines have eliminated or slashed service at the facility.
