USA. The Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) Board of Commissioners yesterday voted unanimously to appoint Atif Elkadi as Chief Executive Officer of Southern California’s premier aviation gateway, effective 31 March.
Elkadi joined Ontario International Airport (ONT) in 2017 and has served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the past three years. His extensive, 16-year background in airport operations, management and communications includes positions at Dallas Fort Worth International and Dubai International airports.
“We’re fortunate to have someone of Atif’s experience and leadership as we continue our strong recovery from the pandemic and assert ourselves further as Southern California’s airport of choice,” said Alan D. Wapner, OIAA President and Mayor pro Tem of the City of Ontario.
“We have full confidence in his ability to lead our Ontario International Airport team in serving one of the most dynamic population and economic centres in the US.”
Since its return to local ownership in 2016, Ontario International Airport has become one of the aviation industry’s great success stories, with passenger volumes climbing more than +30% to a pre-pandemic peak of nearly 5.6 million.
The airport is located in the Inland Empire [an urban and metropolitan region in Southern California centred around the cities of Riverside and San Bernardino -Ed], approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the centre of Southern California. It is a full-service airport with non-stop commercial jet service to 18 major airports in the US, Mexico and Taiwan, and a connecting service to many domestic and international destinations.
As reported, in January the OIAA Board of Commissioners approved a ten-year duty free concession agreement with 3Sixty Duty Free & More to operate in Terminal 2. The store will open in July.
Over the past year, Ontario International has posted one of the strongest travel recovery rates in the US and was named by Global Traveler magazine as the fastest-growing airport in the country for the third year in a row. Ontario International Airport also ranks among the top ten cargo airports in North America and is deemed a critical hub for the movement of goods around the world.
“I am extremely grateful for the support of the OIAA Board of Commissioners, and the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary team of airport professionals,” said Elkadi. “Together, we have the honour of serving one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, and I look forward to building on our role as a premier passenger airport, supply chain hub and economic driver for the Inland Empire.”
