Airport Board Member Draws Fire Over $185,000 in Five Years of Global Travel

Resident commuters and business travelers at Ontario International Airport are facing tighter budget controls after a city council member’s substantial travel expenses were uncovered. New rules now limit how often board members can fly and require pre-approval for trips, a direct response to a five-year spending audit that highlighted significant costs tied to one individual's travel activities.

Public records released under the California Public Records Act show that Alan Wapner billed the airport authority $184,997 for 72 trips between March 2021 and June 2026. Wapner served on the airport board until recently. In total, he reported 132 trips across five different agencies where he held seats, accumulating 26 trips per year on average. The combined travel costs across these bodies reached $283,630, with the airport authority covering the largest share.

The disparity in spending was stark compared to his colleagues. The airport authority’s reimbursement to Wapner was 64 times higher than the total travel costs for the other four board members during the same period. Ron Loveridge, the board president, received only $2,865 for his travel, while the other three members did not request reimbursement at all. Wapner’s other board expenses included $62,855 from the City of Ontario, $17,578 from Omnitrans, $12,574 from the Southern California Association of Governments, and $5,625 from the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority.

The destinations for these airport-funded trips included international locations such as Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Madrid, alongside the Bahamas. He also made repeated visits to Hawaii. One notable expense was an $8,939.40 charge in January 2023 for a 17-day conference in Maui, which included a $7,000 rental for a three-bedroom house in Lahaina. In April 2026, a trip to Rio de Janeiro that included his wife cost $14,325. A September 2025 trip to Hong Kong totaled $12,701, with airfare alone accounting for $7,437 of that amount.

Wapner defended the expenditures in an email, stating, "My travel was necessary for me to be effective in my position." He emphasized that none of the trips were junkets and argued that the travel provided him with access to airline executives, concession operators, and federal officials who influence the airport's growth. Loveridge acknowledged that the spending complied with authority rules at the time but noted that commissioners were unaware of the trips. Since Wapner did not report back to the full board, other members did not know the frequency or cumulative cost of the travel. Loveridge also pointed out that the funds came from airport revenue rather than tax dollars.

Beyond travel, Wapner earned approximately $250,000 in meeting stipends from the airport authority over the past decade. This amount was nearly double the stipends paid to Supervisor Curt Hagman. The financial scrutiny coincides with broader legal attention. On July 28, the FBI searched Wapner’s Ontario home. Agents also searched the homes or offices of Hagman, attorney Frank Lizarraga, and others connected to businessman James Su. Subpoenas were issued to the airport and City Hall, though no charges were known to have been filed as of October 22.

In response to the findings, the airport board approved bylaw changes on September 24. These changes cap monthly stipends at $1,000 and restrict members to one domestic conference annually and one international conference every other year, both requiring advance approval. Spouses can no longer be reimbursed for travel. On October 19, the board voted to establish an internal auditing program with a full-time auditor. Wapner described the board’s actions as scapegoating, noting that travel was a budget line item that members could have questioned.

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. Catherine Lhamon of UC Berkeley's Edley Center on Law and Democracy commented on the situation, stating, "Personal profit from public service is the definition of corruption," and called for clear rules and public scrutiny of officials.