Federal Grants Will Fund Improvements at Inland Empire Airports
Four Inland Empire airports and airfields will see a boost in their budgets from 2026 Airport Improvement Grants from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Receiving the largest grant locally is Ontario International Airport (ONT), which won nearly $7.36 million toward runway reconstruction.
Karen Kavanagh, ONT’s Executive Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Performance, said the money will be used for updates and repairs to the northernmost runway.
“Our utmost priority is always the safety, security and the operations of our runways,” Kavanagh said in an interview.
ONT has two runways, but only one of them is in use at any given time to follow safety protocols, so repairs won’t impede airplane traffic.
Kavanagh said ONT is continuously monitoring and conducting safety checks to ensure all elements of the busy airport are up to standard and that the north runway portion remains safely operational.
“We’re very disciplined on doing the preparation work (for the grant), working so closely with the FAA,” she said. ”We have such a great partnership with our region here at the FAA, and we’ve been very successful in obtaining grants from them.”
Work on the 2,200-foot portion of the runway is slated to begin in January 2027 and is expected to take around 10 months to complete, Kavanagh said.
The work was identified as needed due to the age of the runways and their consistent use.
The grant-funded work includes runway replacement and new LED runway lights.
The airport will also take the opportunity to complete other nongrant-funded projects, such as adding a Category 3 instrument landing system, which is highly advanced landing technology that assists pilots with landing even in low visibility conditions.
Once work is completed, the runway work is expected to have around a 30-year lifespan, Kavanagh said.
The runway work also coincides with the ONT Bold plan for the airport and future progress such as a new terminal and parking structure.
ONT won the No. 2 spot for mid-sized airports in a 2025 J.D. Power survey. The airport was also ranked eighth in the nation in 2024 for landed weight by cargo according to the U.S. Transportation Department.
San Bernardino International Airport (SBD) also received an Airport Improvement Program grant for nearly $1.18 million for aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles, the FAA said. An additional $2.9 million was received for runway pavement replacement, said Mark Gibbs, Director of Aviation for SBD.
Construction on the pavement is expected to begin this fall, Gibbs said. A date for acquiring the new vehicle was not yet available.
“There’s a long lead item on the fire vehicle, just because it’s so specialized,” Gibbs said in an interview. “Commercial airports have their own specially trained firefighters, and they have specialized fire equipment. That’s why that’s been so expensive.”
Other I.E. airports to receive the funding are March Air Reserve Base for nearly $1.32 million to reconstruct the apron where planes park and connect to the terminal, and the Big Bear Airport for $1.33 million to acquire snow removal equipment.
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