Iconic Moments that Shaped Ontario International Airport's Legacy

Discover Ontario International Airport's evolution in aviation, from key milestones to community impacts.

Did you know Ontario International Airport was established the same year as the Walt Disney Company, the Hollywood sign and the original Yankee Stadium?

Over its first 100 years, ONT played a vital role in shaping the world of aviation, advancing the region, supporting our military, serving as a Hollywood backdrop and so much more. Read on to learn more about some of the iconic milestones in your airport’s vibrant, century-long history.

ONT’s First Flight: Where It All Began 

ONT was born in 1923, when friends and aviators Waldo Waterman and Archie Mitchell established the Ontario Aircraft Corporation. The partners leased land from Union Pacific Railroad that sat a few miles west of ONT’s current location, at San Antonio and Mountain avenues. Waterman and Mitchell named their airstrip Latimer Field, after a nearby orange-packing company.

The first plane to land at Latimer Field that year was a Curtiss JN-4D Jenny, better known simply as a “Jenny.” The plane belonged to Waterman and Mitchell, who took passengers for rides around the area. Soon, Waterman started an airline offering flights from Ontario up to Big Bear Lake.

The Jenny was the No. 1 training aircraft during World War I, which offered hints at another major milestone that soon would become part of ONT’s legacy.

ONT Supports Military Efforts During WWII

The city of Ontario established Ontario Municipal Airport at the current airport site and had grown the property to 500 acres by the time World War II broke out, when the U.S. Army Air Corps needed the airfield to train pilots and aircrews for fighter and bomber planes.

Two new paved runways replaced dirt landing strips at the site, with an Army Air Corps plane making the first landing on February 27, 1942. Teams took off from the airport to patrol the coastline for enemy submarines and to photograph harbor defenses.

Another 345 acres also were added to the property during the war, along with an air traffic control tower and instrument landing system, which is a radio navigation system that helps guide pilots during the landing phase of a flight. And Ontario Municipal Airport was renamed Ontario International Airport after transpacific cargo flights started taking off from the airfield.

In 1947, the military departed, and Ontario international Airport was rededicated to civil aviation. Still, ONT supports the military to this day, with one of the nation’s busiest USO centers in the country located at the airport to serve thousands of active-duty service members each year.

ONT’s First Commercial Flight: Connections in the West

In September 1949, ONT received a permit from the state of California that allowed commercial service to begin. And on October 27, 1949, the first commercial flight landed at the airport, cementing the airport’s role in aviation history.

The flight was operated by then-popular Western Airlines. Western offered ONT as a stop as part of its Los Angeles-Palm Springs-Las Vegas service. The route was flown on a Douglas DC-3.

Soon, the airline expanded with trips to San Francisco. Then Bonanza Air Lines started offering flights to and from ONT. And the rest is history, with nearly a dozen commercial airlines operating at ONT today.

Hollywood Comes to ONT

For decades, ONT has been a popular filming site for dozens of movies, TV shows, music videos and commercials.

For films set in the 1950s through 1980s, mid-century modern-style Terminal 1 is a perfect backdrop. The terminal was built and upgraded during those years, then shut down when ONT’s twin terminal complex opened in 1998. So directors — such as Steven Spielberg, when he was shooting “Catch Me If You Can,” and Ben Affleck, when he was filming “Argo” — didn’t need to recreate a historic airport or shut down an active one to get their shots.

ONT’s active terminals, T2 and T4, are frequently used to represent airports all over the world. The airport offers easy access to Hollywood crews without the crazy crowds and traffic that are inevitable at LAX. That’s why you can spot them in movies such as “Moneyball” with Brad Pitt and “Up in the Air” with George Clooney, plus in TV shows such as “Hacks” and “YOU.”

The airport’s historic National Guard Hangar, which opens to paved areas near the south runway, also offers a unique film site. You’ll see this space in “Ford v Ferrari” with Matt Damon.

Global companies such as Toyota, Oikos, Call of Duty, Walmart, United Airlines and Doritos, to name a few, have also taken advantage of ONT’s filming sites to help tell their brands’ stories. We have even filmed our own commercials in the airport!

So next time you’re watching anything filmed at an airport, look closer and try to spot ONT landmarks!

Touchdown ’81: A Runway to Remember 

In 1979, ONT — then run by Los Angeles World Airports or LAWA — held a groundbreaking ceremony for a planned $19 million runway construction project. Two years later, on March 5, 1981, the Board of Airport Commissioners sanctioned Runway 8R-26L, or ONT’s south runway.

On April 26, 1981, the airport held a massive event known as Touchdown ’81. More than 35,000 people came to the airport to help dedicate and celebrate the new runway that could accommodate wide-body jets. They received a commemorative photo book to mark the occasion.

More than 40 years after that occasion, in fall 2024, crews completed a $90 million rehabilitation project on Runway 8R-26L. Now, the south runway is ready for several more decades of landings and takeoffs!

ONT’s First International Flight: A Gateway to the World

Crews built a new 36,000-square-foot International Arrivals Terminal after the Board of Airport Commissioners approved plans for a $270 million expansion project at Terminal 1.

The International Arrivals Terminal officially opened on November 15, 1993. On that day, the first nonstop international commercial flight arrived at ONT, as passengers flew in from Mexico.

In 2014, Volaris launched nonstop service between ONT and Guadalajara. Then in 2018, China Airlines brought ONT’s first nonstop transpacific passenger service with daily flights to Taiwan. And in 2021, Avianca Airlines started service between ONT and El Salvador, marking the first nonstop service from the Inland Empire to Central America.

ONT officially became a Landing Rights airport in 2024, paving the way for even more international flights and air travel evolution to come.

ONT Becomes a Logistics Hub

Most people only think of commercial flights when they think of ONT. But Ontario International Airport also is consistently on the FAA’s top 10 list (alongside major airport hubs like JFK, LAX, MIA and Chicago O'Hare) for busiest cargo hubs in the nation. And that all started back in 1987.

In January of that year, FedEx opened a new 30,000-square-foot facility on 7.5 acres located on the south side of the airport. With an estimated cost of $2 million, the facility served as a hub for cargo operations coming in and out of ONT.

The idea was contagious. On July 29, 1992, UPS held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its 56,000-square-foot West Coast Air Hub at ONT. Amazon Prime has since come to ONT. And in 2020, FedEx spent $100 million to replace its original facility with a 251,000-square-foot complex that includes a sorting facility capable of handling 12,000 packages per hour.

More than 1 billion pounds of freight now move through ONT each year, which is roughly 1.37 times the weight of the Empire State Building! This gives the airport an important role in both the region's logistics economy and in getting goods to residents in Southern California and beyond.

Recent Developments: ONT’s Rising Star 

After recovering from the pandemic, ONT has celebrated month after month of record-breaking passenger numbers. The airport has also welcomed new airlines and nonstop routes, new restaurants in both terminals, a Global Entry Enrollment Center and so many more new milestones in its history.

Much of that recent growth and revitalization was set in motion on November 1, 2016, when ownership of the airport officially transferred from LAWA to the Ontario International Airport Authority, or OIAA. The transfer was heavily influenced by the city of Ontario’s own Set Ontario Free Campaign, which fought to bring the airport back under local control.

ONT has celebrated that anniversary each November through a State of the Airport luncheon, with big plans underway to honor the 10th anniversary of our return to local control! Another popular annual event is the 5K at the Runway, which raises thousands of dollars for the local USO.

Some of the airport’s innovative partnerships have earned international awards and attention from major media outlets. That includes our Brewery X at ONT, which is a joint venture between the local brewery and the airport. It also includes the California Science Center at ONT, an immersive space inside T4 that gives travelers a taste of the popular science museum in Los Angeles.

Looking Ahead to the Next Century

Next time you’re at ONT, look for display cases in both terminals with items from the airport’s museum that reflect this 100-year history and can help you connect with Ontario International Airport’s story.

ONT truly is your airport. And every time you choose to fly with us, you become part of our history, helping us build what ONT will become over the next 100 years!