Ontario airport connecting to Central America with new flights to El Salvador

In an effort to keep the “international” in Ontario International Airport, the airport plans to provide flights to Central America for the first time in its history.

The airport has contracted with a Colombia-based Avianca Airlines to offer three flights a week to El Salvador starting July 1, marking the first time ONT will send and receive passengers to and from the country’s capital, San Salvador. Also, it is Avianca’s first foray into the Inland Empire, confirmed Rolando Damas, Avianca’s managing director for North America.

“We’ve never operated from Ontario. This will be the first time ever for us, so we are very excited,” Damas said on Thursday, Feb. 11.

And with the recent addition of Volaris Airlines’ flights to Mexico City, Ontario airport is tapping into a growing international Latino market that is opening wider during the coronavirus pandemic and is filling the gap left by the once popular China Airlines flights to Taiwan that have been grounded for nearly a year.

The airport saw passenger travel drop by about 50% in 2020 due to COVID-19 shut downs and travel restrictions. International travel dropped to nearly zero. ONT has recovered passenger traffic faster than any California airport and third-fastest among U.S. airports.

“While domestic travel accounts for much of ONT’s recovery, it will be particularly gratifying to add Avianca’s international service,” said Mark Thorpe, CEO of the Ontario International Airport Authority, in a prepared statement.

Business, airline and airport officials agreed that Central and South America are more open to travel than the Far East and Europe and represent a growth market in general, vibrant not only in Los Angeles but also in Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

There are about 1.5 million Salvadorans living in Southern California, including at least 30,000 in the Inland Empire, estimated Juan Duran, president of the El Salvador Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles.

“There is a big population of Salvadorans in Ontario,” said Armando Rodriguez, president of the Ontario Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “And a lot of business owners, too.”

Yelp lists at least 10 Salvadoran restaurants in or near Ontario alone, most serving pupusas, a specialty flatbread sandwich filled with meat, cheese and vegetables. Many are located close to the airport.

“Latinos have always been a big market here, with Ontario at 73% Hispanic. A lot of people (from Latin America) flock to this city, so these flights are more for them,” Rodriguez said.

Avianca’s research says the Salvadoran market is vast and the airline expects it to expand after COVID-19 vaccinations become more widespread and air travel picks up.

Now, people flying from El Salvador back to the United States must test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of boarding, according to the U.S. State Department. Also, the airline said restrictions could change and force adjustments to flight schedules.

However, the airlines’ Salvadoran flights from Ontario are already selling, said Damas. He expects the airline could go to daily flights by the end of summer.

“We saw there was a big (Salvadoran) community close by,” he said. “We feel the flights will do very well. If it was pre-COVID time we would have started with daily flights.”

Who will be flying to El Salvador?

“Mostly people visiting friends and relatives. That is the segment we feel will be 85% to 90% of those flights. But there will be a bit of leisure travel,” Damas said.

Avianca is hoping to take advantage of El Salvador’s geography — a small country the size of Massachusetts located near other leisure destinations such as Costa Rica, Ecuador and even Peru.

Oscar Levi Dominguez, president of the El Salvador Corridor Town LA and board member with Salvadoran American National Roundtable, said Salvadorans are filling the LAX flights and would welcome a second choice for travel to their home country.

“We are happy to have that airport as one that will be flying direct to El Salvador,” Dominguez said on Thursday, Feb. 11.

The Ontario flights could pull from L.A. County as well, even from the El Salvador Corridor on Vermont Avenue, a dedicated location for Salvadoran residents and businesses.

“Ontario (airport) is less congested than LAX, so therefore, for some clients, it may be a little more attractive. It is offering an alternative,” Damas said. Avianca operates two daily flights to El Salvador from LAX, he said.

Dominguez said tourism to El Salvador had been increasing pre-pandemic. One reason is surfing. The tiny nation’s beaches have been described as “point break meccas” in surfing blogs and have attracted wave riders from throughout the world.

The country has been plagued by gang wars and was deemed the murder capital of the world in 2015. Since then, the murder rate has dropped due to police crackdowns on gang violence, according to news reports.

“The young people, even those throughout California, are going to surf over there,” Dominguez said. “Avianca has found out that Americans will travel to Central America.”

Added Damas: “It’s a nice destination — a best-kept secret.”

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