Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Ontario International Airport (KONT) is a major Class C international airport in San Bernardino County, California, roughly 38 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and 18 miles west of San Bernardino. Home to twin parallel concrete runways long enough to serve as a diversion field for LAX, it is one of the busiest cargo airports in the United States, hosting hub operations for UPS Airlines and FedEx Express. For a simulator pilot it offers a genuine slice of West Coast heavy-cargo and airline traffic alongside full instrument approach facilities.
Ontario International Airport lies in the city of Ontario, California, within the Inland Empire east of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is operated under a joint-powers agreement involving the city of Ontario and San Bernardino County, and serves as a major air cargo hub as well as a passenger gateway for the region. Its two long concrete runways, one of which exceeds the length of three of the four runways at Los Angeles International Airport, make it a notable alternate landing site for large aircraft bound for LAX, and its mix of airline, cargo and general aviation traffic gives it plenty of character for a virtual visit.
KONT sits within Class C airspace and is worked by Southern California Approach/Departure. The field is about 38 miles (61 km) east of downtown Los Angeles and about 18 miles (29 km) west of downtown San Bernardino, roughly 2 miles east of downtown Ontario itself. Its proximity to the dense Los Angeles Basin airspace system means pilots should expect active coordination with SoCal Approach when transiting or arriving in the area.
Ontario has two parallel physical runways aligned 08/26. Runway 08L/26R is 11,180 feet long, hard-surfaced, lit, and equipped with an ILS. Runway 08R/26L is 10,186 feet long, also hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving the 26L end. Both runways are substantial enough to accommodate the widebody airline and cargo traffic that dominates operations at the field.
Southern California Approach/Departure works arrivals and departures on 119.65 MHz. The airport ATIS broadcasts on 124.25 MHz. Clearance Delivery is on 118.1 MHz, Ground on 121.9 MHz, and Tower on 120.6 MHz. An ILS is available, associated with runway 08L/26R and the 26L end of the second runway, supporting instrument approaches into the field.
The airport's origins trace to 1923, when a landing field known as Latimer Field, named after a neighbouring orange-packing company, was established on land leased from the Union Pacific Railroad west of the present site. In 1929 the city of Ontario purchased land now forming the southwest corner of the airport and established Ontario Municipal Airport. In 1941 the city acquired further land and built new runways with Works Progress Administration funding, completed in 1942; the first landing on the new field came on 27 February 1942 by an Army Air Corps aircraft. During the Second World War the airport served as an Army Air Corps training base for the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and an operating base for the North American P-51 Mustang, and afterwards became one of five national centres for the storage, sale and scrapping of surplus military aircraft. In 1946 the field was renamed Ontario International Airport following the start of trans-Pacific cargo flights, with a Pacific Overseas Airlines service from Shanghai arriving on 18 May 1946 to inaugurate round-trip air passenger service to the Orient. Scheduled airline service began with Western Airlines in 1949 and Bonanza Air Lines in 1955, followed by jet services from the late 1960s with Continental, Air California, Pacific Southwest Airlines, Western, United and American Airlines. Ontario joined the Los Angeles regional airport system under a joint-powers agreement in 1967. A second east-west runway, 26L/8R, was built in 1981, replacing the earlier northeast-southwest runway 3/21, remnants of which remain visible in the modern taxiway layout; the airport hosted the Concorde during a round-the-world promotional flight in September 1986. In 1985 the city of Los Angeles acquired the airport outright from the city of Ontario.
Ontario International Airport today functions as a hub for Ameriflight, FedEx Express and UPS Airlines, and serves as a focus city for Amazon Air, reflecting its status as one of the busiest cargo airports in the country. It also supports substantial passenger airline activity, with around 90 daily departures and arrivals. The mix of heavy cargo freighters, airline jets and general aviation movements against a Class C, ILS-equipped backdrop makes it a busy and instructive destination for simulator pilots flying in the Southern California area.