Why Ontario International Airport is making more than $1 million in improvements ahead of China Airlines’ arrival
A late change in flight schedules could have threatened China Airlines' presence at Ontario International Airport if not for the cooperation between congressional leaders and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
When the Asian carrier announced last month it would be operating a daily flight to Ontarioin the afternoon in response to high demand, border agency officials weren't initially sure it could accommodate the change, said Mark Thorpe, executive director of the Ontario International Airport.
That's because the airport only has customs officers on site during a four-hour time slot, and that's typically later in the night, Thorpe said.
With the help of congressional leaders in the region and the cooperation of Customs, an agreement was struck that would keep the carrier's new service on track, he said.
"A lot of work has been done, and it still continues every day, to make sure it is a success," said former San Bernardino County CEO Greg Devereaux, who moderated a discussion about the future of the airport during a luncheon Friday at the University of La Verne. The program was organized by the San Gabriel Valley Public Affairs Network.
Ontario airport now will have customs officers staff assigned at the airport 12 hours a day, from 12:30 p.m. to 12:30 am., which works to the airport's benefit, Thorpe said.
"It's more attractive to market to carriers around the world," he said.
For years, Ontario only had agents for a limited time slot, which Thorpe said made it difficult to attract international carriers.
That's not the only change as a result of the upcoming transoceanic service.
After the January 25 test flight to and from Taiwan, Customs provided the authority with a list of certain improvements that needed to be made to ensure the airport could adequately process international flights at its modular terminal and Federal Inspection Services facility.
Although Ontario already handles international service to Mexico, Thorpe said these improvements were needed after Customs learned China Airlines would be operating a Boeing 777-300ER wide-body aircraft for the service. The mostly technology-related would ensure the process was efficient, he said.
The airport authority has already taken the initial steps to replace its international terminal and federal inspection facility, but that process is expected to take between 18 to 24 months, Thorpe said. On Friday afternoon, Ontario's governing body, in a special meeting, approved a resolution that would make a little more than $1 million in needed improvements before China Airlines begins operations March 25.
"Those are changes that Customs required of us when they agreed to change our schedule," Thorpe explained.
The largest expenditure commissioners approved Friday was $512,000 which will go toward the purchase and installation of 20 new Automated Passport Control kiosks.
Customs will add Global Entry kiosks, but airports are responsible for the Automated Passport Control kiosks which expedite the entry process for U.S., Canadian and Visa Waiver Program travelers, Thorpe said.
The airport authority will be spending another $250,000 to improve cabling and another $207,000 for security and information technology.
"These things we're adding are what every other major international airport has had for three to five years," Thorpe said later said by phone. "If we had been running this airport for the last five years, it would have all been installed."
Thorpe said there are 46 countries that are on the waiver program, including Taiwan, Japan and Korea.
In the future, the airport also hopes to add a Mobile Passport Control, a phone app Customs has used for a while, which allows U.S. and Canadian citizens to submit their passport information and answer inspection-related questions before inspection, Thorpe said.
The authority is also looking into adding a service geared toward the international business traveler who only has a carry-on. The traveler, regardless of nationality, would only have to go through one inspection point before clearing the facility.
It's a program that's used at major international facilities like Dallas, Chicago and Houston, Thorpe said.
Rep. Norma Torres, D-Ontario, agreed with Devereaux's assessment of the ongoing work being done at the airport on a daily basis.
Torres, who helped champion efforts to wrest control from Los Angeles, acknowledged Friday there has been a lot of work behind the scenes since the authority took over control November 2016.
"Once we got local control, it became an uphill battle," she said. "It is like building an entire airport from the ground up."
Which is why Torres said it is "critical that all of us fly Ontario as much as possible."
Thorpe said a lot of credit is also owed to the political support behind the local control.
"The transfer would not have happened if not for the 136 cities behind it, by the city of Ontario," Thorpe said. "Certainly, we wouldn't have had the opportunity for China Airlines if not for the local commitment and the federal commitment."
Source: Liset Marquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin