HONG KONG—Ontario International Airport (ONT) is using record traffic growth and a string of new services to strengthen its position as Southern California’s second international gateway.
In May 2025, United Airlines added daily nonstop service to Chicago O’Hare, followed weeks later by Southwest Airlines’ launch of daily nonstop service to Baltimore-Washington, ONT’s first link to the U.S. capital region. June brought a new international entrant when Starlux Airlines began 4X-weekly flights from Taipei, complementing existing daily service from China Airlines. In July, Volaris nearly doubled its ONT footprint with new routes to Los Cabos, Morelia and Leon/Bajio.
ONT also saw frequency increases in key markets such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Salt Lake City and Seattle. Together, these additions helped the airport record its second-highest passenger total ever in July 2025 and its busiest month for international traffic.
Quinn Annelin, ONT’s director of air service development, says the airport is targeting further international growth. “We continue to focus on growing our international footprint, especially to Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region,” he tells Routes.
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“The greater Los Angeles area has nearly 20 million residents and is the largest metropolitan area in the country by total land area. It’s also home to the second-largest air travel market in the U.S. A region this size and with this many people requires two major international gateways, and ONT is uniquely positioned to fill that role.”
Annelin adds that ONT has the facilities and space to handle more long-haul services. “We already offer long-haul transoceanic service and state-of-the-art facilities, and have room to accommodate additional growth from international carriers in the future. These factors, combined with the 9 million residents that live closer to our airport, make ONT the natural choice for carriers looking to grow their presence in Southern California and expand their reach.”
Public Information Officer Steve Lambert says that the Inland Empire region, which ONT serves, has seen significant job and income growth over the past decade, creating long-term opportunities for air service expansion.
“That said, our airport has not been immune to some of the recent macroeconomic concerns and tariff announcements, both of which have created some softening in demand for travel,” he adds. “Despite these headwinds, ONT continues to outperform our peer airports across California and the U.S., recording 53 consecutive months of year-over-year passenger growth and maintaining our position as the fastest-growing among the 10 largest airports in California.”
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