ONTARIO, Calif. — Jessica Burchett looked down at her boarding pass, screamed, jumped, and flayed her arms excitedly when an Ontario Airport official called her boarding pass number.
She was Ontario International Airport's 30 millionth passenger.
"I won! I can't believe it," said Burchett, a Rancho Cucamonga resident waiting for her flight from Ontario to Denver and then Minnesota, to an airport spokesman. "I'm so excited."
Marking a vital airport milestone, Ontario International Airport celebrated its 30 millionth passenger since the airport's return to local ownership about half a dozen years ago.
The Los Angeles World Airports managed Ontario Airport for nearly 50 years before transferring ownership in 2016 to the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA), a joint powers agreement between the city of Ontario and San Bernardino County, in 2016.
"It's not about the number — 30 million passengers," said Alan Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority Board of Commissioners. "It's about 30 million lives being impacted. That's 30 million people meeting up with their families. It's 30 million travelers who are contributing to the local economy, creating thousands of jobs for folks out here. That's what this milestone really means."
About 35 miles east of Downtown Los Angeles, Ontario International Airport is considered the Inland Empire's main regional airport.
In the six years since being managed by OIAA, the airport has seen passenger volumes increase by more than one-third, Ontario International Airport officials said.
Last year, the airport saw more than 5.7 million airline travelers, a nearly 3% increase from pre-pandemic 2019 and its highest passenger volume since 2008.
"We were one of a few airports in the country throughout 2022 that exceeded our pre-pandemic passenger numbers," said Steven Lambert, a spokesperson for Ontario International Airport.
Passenger numbers should also increase when international air service resumes in the coming months.
Starting March 26, China Airlines will fully restore daily round-trip service between Ontario International Airport and Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei. Flights between the two destinations were suspended at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly three years ago.
As for Burchett, who was traveling to Minnesota for her child's sports tournament, she was unaware of the hoopla surrounding the celebration until she arrived at her Southwest gate.
There were news crews, and colorful balloons decorated the Southwest Airlines entrance.
Burchett said it was luck that she was even there. The family had planned to travel Thursday night, but a change in plans forced them to fly to their destination in the morning.
"We literally were on a later night flight, but I needed to get to Minnesota, so I changed the flight," she said. "And there was so much fun, and here we are. I'm super excited."
When her boarding pass number was called, she screamed. She received free round-trip airline tickets from Southwest Airlines.
"I travel so much for my kids' sports that this is a money saver, and it's phenomenal," she said.