A transfer of management on LA/Ontario International (ONT) from Los Angeles World Airports to the city of Ontario would likely be a complicated, multi-year process, LAWA executive director Gina Marie Lindsey told the agency’s board of commissioners Monday. The comments effectively quashed hopes of Ontario officials to transfer management of the airport by July 1, the start of the fiscal year.
Lindsey said such a transfer would likely involve either a competitive solicitation or an amended joint powers agreement.
“Either of those paths is very complicated,” Lindsey told commissioners. “It would require a pretty sophisticated financial arrangement, which would then have to translate into political consensus between the mayor and this board and the relevant sub-committee to the city council, in addition to the entire city council. Then of course there is the city attorney, as well.
“We are not optimistic that this would take months, it’s probably more like years,” she said.
About a year ago, Ontario city officials began their efforts to regain control of ONT, arguing that LAWA’s management had contributed to the sharp decline in passenger traffic the airport has experienced. Passenger traffic has declined 33.3% since 2007, from 7.2 million passengers that year to 4.8 million in 2010. Lindsey said the traffic decline is “disappointing … but it’s not unique,” pointing to similar declines at other medium-hub airports around the country.
Ontario officials think their city can do better. They have held meetings with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAWA officials, and earlier this year submitted a management proposal to LAWA. Lindsey didn’t comment specifically on the proposal in the meeting. Instead, she said that LAWA is “happy to work with the city of Ontario on ideas they may have that could reduce costs at Ontario and/or make it more attractive for more passengers using the airport.”
Ontario isn’t likely to give up its quest, however. Ontario City Councilman Alan Wapner told The Daily Breeze newspaper the city will continue its efforts to gain control.
“We disagree with LAWA’s analysis of what has gone wrong and what needs to be done to restore the Inland Empire’s main economic engine,” Wapner reportedly told the newspaper. “We also disagree that it needs to be a lengthy process for the two government agencies to come to an agreement for the transfer of the airport.”
Meantime, LAWA officials are reviewing submissions from 10 companies that responded to the agency’s request for expressions of interest for a management company for ONT. Lindsey said she expected to summarize LAWA’s findings to the board of airport commissioners in May. The submissions came from seven airport operators: American Airports Corp., Airport Property Ventures, AvPORTS/AFCO, Fraport AG, GMR Airports, Incheon International Airport Corp. and Munich Airport Consulting. Three infrastructure investors – AMP Capital, The Carlyle Group and Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners – also submitted expressions of interest.
