Ontario Airport Authority Caps Member Travel Following $184,997 in Reimbursements

The Ontario International Airport Authority adopted new bylaws on September 24 to restrict member travel and stipends, a move prompted by records showing one former board member collected $184,997 for 72 trips between March 2021 and June 2026. The changes cap monthly stipends at $1,000 and limit members to one domestic conference annually and one international conference every other year. Each trip now requires advance approval, and the board voted on October 19 to create an internal auditing program with a full-time auditor.

Ontario City Council member Alan Wapner, who served on the authority's board until recently, accounted for the majority of the agency's travel expenditures. According to documents released under the California Public Records Act, Wapner was reimbursed for visits to Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, the Bahamas, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid, and Hawaii. A single 17-day conference trip to Maui in January 2023 cost $8,939.40, including a $7,000 rental of a three-bedroom house in Lahaina.

Wapner's wife accompanied him on several of these journeys, including a trip to Rio de Janeiro in April 2026 that totaled $14,325. A September 2025 trip to Hong Kong cost $12,701, with airfare alone accounting for $7,437. Under the new rules, spouses' travel can no longer be paid for by the authority.

Across five public agencies where Wapner held seats, he reported 132 trips over the same five-year period, averaging about 26 trips per year. These agencies spent a combined $283,630 on his travel. The airport authority's share of that total was 64 times the amount reimbursed to the other four board members combined. Board president Ron Loveridge received $2,865 for travel during that period, while the other three members did not seek reimbursement.

Loveridge stated that the spending met the authority's rules at the time but that commissioners were unaware of the trips because Wapner did not report back to the full board. Loveridge also noted that the funds came from airport revenue rather than tax dollars. Wapner defended the expenditures in an email, writing, "My travel was necessary for me to be effective in my position," and adding that none of the trips were junkets. He said the trips provided access to airline executives, concession operators, and federal officials.

Wapner earned approximately $250,000 in meeting stipends from the authority over the past decade, nearly double the amount paid to Supervisor Curt Hagman. The FBI searched Wapner's Ontario home on July 28. Agents also searched the homes or offices of Hagman, attorney Frank Lizarraga, and others tied to businessman James Su. Subpoenas were issued to Ontario International Airport and Ontario City Hall. As of October 22, no charges have been filed against those searched, and the specific items sought by investigators are not publicly known.

The City Council has removed Wapner from all committee appointments, including the airport board. He has dropped his planned mayoral run and is seeking another term on the council, where he has served since 1994. Wapner described the board's actions as scapegoating, arguing that travel was a budget line item that members could have questioned previously.

Wapner's other boards also paid for his travel. The City of Ontario reimbursed him $62,855, Omnitrans paid $17,578, the Southern California Association of Governments paid $12,574, and the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority paid $5,625. Catherine Lhamon of UC Berkeley's Edley Center on Law and Democracy stated, "Personal profit from public service is the definition of corruption," and called for clear rules and public scrutiny of officials.