Ontario International Airport's air traffic control tower could see its staffing target reduced by six controllers, even as the airport reports passenger growth and increased cargo traffic. Rep. Norma Torres, whose Inland Empire district includes Ontario, pressed Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford on the issue Tuesday during a House Appropriations subcommittee oversight hearing, demanding more federal investment and better pay and resources for the controllers who staff the facility.
Torres, a Democrat, is a member of the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, which held the hearing on September 15. As the Daily Bulletin reported, she told Bedford that ONT's current facility classification does not reflect the real complexity of its airspace, and she pushed him to reconsider both staffing levels and the agency's broader approach to labor rules affecting flight crews.
Why the Classification Fight Matters
The FAA assigns air traffic control facilities a level, ranked from 4 to 12, based on traffic volume and operational complexity, and that level determines how much controllers are paid, according to the newspaper's report. ONT's tower currently sits at Level 5. Under the agency's newest assessment, the newspaper reported, the FAA plans to lower ONT's staffing target from 21 fully certified controllers down to just 15.
Torres argued that classification doesn't capture what actually happens at ONT around the clock. The airport runs 24-hour operations with complicated overnight traffic and cargo demands, the outlet noted, and she said reclassifying the facility to a higher level could help boost staffing there. Facility levels were last collectively bargained in December 2024, and the report noted the facility level does not, on its own, set staffing numbers — that distinction is part of what makes the dispute complicated, since the FAA retains jurisdiction over ONT controllers' staffing, compensation, and working conditions even as pay is tied to the level designation.
An Airport Outgrowing Its Rank
The numbers behind Torres's argument are substantial. ONT handled 7,116,735 passengers and 835,129 tons of freight and mail in 2025, according to figures published by Ontario International Airport, cementing its role as one of Southern California's primary passenger gateways and a major national air cargo hub. Passenger growth has continued into 2026: passenger volume in the first quarter reached 1.5 million travelers, a 4.1% year-over-year increase driven by a 58.4% surge in international traffic, per Victor Valley News.
According to Torres, ONT has contributed $5 billion to the regional economy and supported more than 24,000 jobs over the past decade, figures cited in the Daily Bulletin's report on the hearing. Ontario International Airport, in a statement, said it appreciates Torres's support for investments and resources that promote safe and efficient aviation operations, the outlet reported. Steve Lambert, identified in that coverage, said ONT air traffic controllers are FAA employees.
National Shortage Complicates the Picture
The push for more controllers at ONT collides with a nationwide staffing crunch that has been building for years. A U.S. Government Accountability Office report from January found that the total number of certified controllers nationwide fell 6% over the past decade even as overall flight volume grew 10%, according to the Government Accountability Office. During fiscal year 2025, the FAA hired 2,028 controller trainees and recorded 1,460 total workforce losses.
That shortage has already produced visible disruptions in Southern California. Earlier this week, the FAA briefly paused incoming flights at Los Angeles International Airport because of staffing constraints at SoCal TRACON, the regional radar facility that manages airspace covering ONT and four other major Southern California commercial airports, as previously reported by Hoodline. Torres has continued to steer federal dollars toward ONT's physical infrastructure even as staffing targets shrink; she helped secure $33 million in federal grants for the airport over the past year, including a $7.37 million FAA grant in July for north runway rehabilitation, according to a press release from her office.
A Second Fight Over State Labor Law
Beyond staffing numbers, Torres also asked the FAA to withdraw a separate proposed rule that would preempt state and local meal and rest break laws for flight crews. The Federal Register published that proposed rule on July 6, amending 14 CFR Parts 117 and 121 to state that federal flight crew duty and rest rules override state and local meal and rest break requirements, according to the Federal Register listing itself.
Bedford told the hearing the FAA has the authority to override state meal and rest break laws for flight crews, and said the agency's legal team would assert those authorities under the proposed rule, according to the Daily Bulletin's account of the exchange. Torres pushed back, arguing that court rulings and Supreme Court precedents show the FAA lacks the authority to overrule state and local laws, and she asked Bedford directly to ensure the agency follows those state and local requirements. The FAA does have authority to regulate crew duty time limits and mandatory crew rest, which is separate from the meal and rest break question at the center of the dispute.
The proposal follows years of federal litigation, including a 2021 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Bernstein v. Virgin America that upheld California's meal and rest break mandates for commercial airline crew members, according to AVweb. VAI and aviation industry partners submitted comments on September 4, 2026.
An FAA spokesperson was not reached for comment on Torres's concerns as of Wednesday, according to the Daily Bulletin's reporting. Ontario International Airport was transferred from Los Angeles World Airports to the Ontario International Airport Authority, a milestone that set the stage for the growth now driving Torres's push for more federal resources at the tower she says is being underrated on paper even as it handles some of the busiest overnight cargo traffic in the region.
