Airport board votes to ban spouse travel and cap conferences

The Ontario International Airport Authority adopted new bylaws on Sept. 24 that limit member travel. The rules cap domestic conferences at one per year and international trips at one every other year. Spouses can no longer ride on the agency's dime. Members must receive advance approval for any journey.

These changes follow a California Public Records Act release. Documents show Alan Wapner billed the authority $184,997 for 72 trips between March 2021 and June 2026. Wapner served on the board until recently. Across five agencies where he held seats, his total travel reimbursement reached $283,630. The airport authority paid the largest share. The other four boards covered $98,632.

Wapner's expenses stood out against his colleagues. He received 64 times more in reimbursements than the other four board members combined. Board president Ron Loveridge billed $2,865 over the same period. The other three members never requested reimbursement. Wapner's trips included stops in Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, the Bahamas, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Madrid. He also made repeated visits to Hawaii.

Specific line items draw attention. In January 2023, Wapner charged $8,939.40 for a 17-day conference in Maui. That bill included a $7,000 rental for a three-bedroom house in Lahaina. A trip to Rio de Janeiro in April 2026 cost $14,325 and included his wife. A September 2025 flight to Hong Kong cost $12,701, with airfare alone reaching $7,437.

Wapner defended the spending in an email. He stated that the travel was necessary for him to be effective in his position. He added that none of the trips were junkets. He claimed the trips gave him access to airline executives, concession operators, and federal officials. Loveridge said the spending met authority rules at the time. He noted that commissioners did not know about the trips because Wapner did not report back to the full board. Loveridge also pointed out that the money came from airport revenue rather than tax dollars.

The board voted on Oct. 19 to create an internal auditing program. This includes hiring a full-time auditor. Wapner called the new rules scapegoating. He argued that travel was a budget line item that members could have questioned. The FBI searched Wapner's Ontario home on July 28. Agents also searched the homes of Supervisor Curt Hagman and attorney Frank Lizarraga. No charges are known to have been filed as of Oct. 22. Wapner has dropped his planned mayoral run and is seeking another term on the city council.