ONT-Spot1a
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May 21, 2020Ontario Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on April 15, 2026
Ontario International Airport (ONT/KONT) is one of the many airports in the metropolian aera of Los Angeles. The airport had 5.115 Million passengers in 2018 and is served mainly by Southwest Airlines besides the common US carriers. Volaris, Starlux and China Airlines are the only foreign airlines. If you are in Los Angeles and you’ll planning some intense cargo spotting this is your place. Here UPS has his west coast hub at the airport and Fedex, Ameriflight and Amazon Prime Air serving several cities from there.
We highly recommend this airport in December, when during the Christmas Peek (like from 8 to 22 December) the activity is very very high. You can see even 50 cargo movements in 3 hours.
Written by Tombarelli Federico, Christian Preinl, Christian Wewerka and Patrick Weis. Last change: April 2026 – Spot 1A by Thomas Rings
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather |  |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 08L/26R | 3.718 m (12.197ft) Concrete |
| 08R/26L | 3.109 m (10.200ft) Concrete |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal 2 | Alaska, China Airlines, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, United, Volaris |
| Terminal 4 | American, Southwest |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | It is recommended at Spots 2-4. The use of a ladder or car roof/pickup is tolerated but at least 10 feet away from the fence. |
| Car/Public Transport | You’ll need your car |
| Restrooms | Nothing directly at the locations expect a small burger store next to 1 and 2. |
| Drinks/Food | Nothing directly at the locations expect a small burger store next to 1 and 2. There are dozens of fast foods north of the terminals and along the I10. |
| Hotels | There are dozens of hotels north of the terminals and along the I10. |
| Season | The light conditions are perfect from October until March as the sun is always in the south and less issues with heat haze that pop up during the hot summer months. |
| Security | Spotting around the airport is tolerated by the airport authorities and the police and they will let you continue after a quick security check. Only the TSA don’t like to see spotters and will ask you to stop. |
| Runway Usage | |
| 08L/26R | All civil airplanes and the Prime Air/ABX as their terminal is next to the civil ones. |
| 08R/26L | UPS, FedEx and whatever flies for them as their terminals are closer to this runway. |
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Spot #1 – S Haven Ave – 26L/R arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot itself is located next to the S Haven Ave on a gravel track east of the airport. Do NOT enter the gravel track with your car as it is forbidden and scientists are doing some research on owls living there so people may pass by here regularly… Please respect this project, don’t chase any birds or whatever – behave properly! The best is to park you car at the daltile lot but only in designated spots since in others they will tow the vehicle away. Then either walk back here onto the field east of S Haven Ave (Option A) or position yourself with a ladder on the western side of S Haven Ave next to the fence and pole (Option B). April 2026: a new hall was build here, but you can still park by the roadside and walk onto a small field behind some freshly planted trees to take pictures of the approach. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runways 26L/R. If you are hunting something on the L you can go into Jurupa Street (the road behind you) to get a better angle. From Option B you can also see the southeastern UPS apron. |
| TIME | Light on this side is from 08:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| MISC. | Nothing at the spot. A Burger store is not too far away. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50-400mm |
Option A – the field:
View from the spot to the parking by the roadside:
View from the spot northwards towards the approach:
Option B – the fence:
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Spot #2 – Platform – UPS Apron |
|---|---|
| WHERE | Located at the interscetion between S Haven Ave and Jurupa Street. You’ll see between the tress, near the corner of the wall something like a platform. It’s quite easy to climb and from there you’ll have a bit of view over the UPS apron. Park in front of Avocado Burger and cross the road. However, this is no real spot as there are high concrete walls all around. Rather just for a short lookout giving a nice overview… |
| WHAT | You can see some of the UPS apron parked aircraft, some shots are possible. |
| TIME | Early morning in summer, all day during winter |
| MISC. | We don’t know if this is a legal spot, you will bite and run anyway. You can see from the road which airplane is parked in front of this spot |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50mm for parked aicraft |
No samples available from this location. Looks like this (pretty old photo but still the same view)
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Spot #3 – Airport Fence – All movements RWY 26 + nearby Taxiway |
|---|---|
| WHERE | Take Jurupa St and go wesbound. When you’ll see the control tower take the road (Tower road) to reach it. Than turn right and follow E Lowell Street to its end. Once you get to some concrete barriers in the front, turn left into an unnamed street. This will lead you past the FAA facility on the left up the airport fence – spot from here. |
| WHAT | Every movement in the airport. You can see all landings and take offs. For taxiway shots we recommend spot #4 because this position is too close. |
| TIME | Light on this side is from 08:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| MISC. | Nothing at the spot. A Burger store is not too far away though. A small 1-2 step ladder is useful in order to be able to shoot comfortably here. Haze may be an issue on hot days. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 24-200mm |
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Spot #4 – E Lowell St – All movements RWY 26 + nearby Taxiway |
|---|---|
| WHERE | Take Jurupa St and go wesbound. When you’ll see the control tower take the road (Tower road) to reach it. Than turn right and follow the fence on E Lowell St, here is your spot. Choose across the fence the spot you feel better. For this spot you’ll NEED a pick-up style vehicle. The fence is quite high and so you’ll need to stay up in wagon to avoid it. You are allowed to park on the street quite close to the fence (but not too close as you’ll be sent away); |
| WHAT | Every movement in the airport. You can see all landings and take offs. Based on runway usage and where companies has parking terminal you’ll see them on R or L. Remember that if an aicraft parks at FedEx you’ll get only on the runway on landing because their ramp is to your left, but you’ll get the taxi to departure. If something parks at UPS you’ll also get the taxi to the stand but you’ll get only the departure on the runway. If you are looking for some civilian departure this is your spot (sample Prime Air), otherwise if you are looking for some landings we suggest to use spot #1 as you can avoid the probably heat haze during the day. |
| TIME | Light on this side is from 08:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| MISC. | Nothing at the spot. A Burger store is not too far away though. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70mm 767-300/MD11 on taxiway 140mm 767/MD11 on runway L 250mm 767 on runway R |
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Spot #5 – Business Park – 8L/R arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | The spot itself is between Mission Blvd and some business parks at a green stripe with some trees. Turn in one of the parking lots next to Mission Blvd and Mildred St and leave your car there. Parking might be prohibited so watch the signs. On weekends parking should be fine. |
| WHAT | Best for 08L arrivals. 08R arrivals are possible too but the angle is not the best. |
| TIME | Light on this side is from 08:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| MISC. | Keep in mind that you might stand on private property and you will be request to leave the place. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150mm for the 757 |
Last Wednesday I was spotting at Spot 3 first, then walked all the way to Spot 1 with my step ladder. While I was out there taking plane photos, the Ontario Police Department got called on me twice.
The first time, someone reported that I was trying to jump the fence at Spot 3, even though I was just spotting. About 5 or 6 police cars pulled up as I was walking toward Spot 1 on S Haven Ave, but after talking to me they understood I was just an aviation photographer.
I even showed them SpotterGuide and the “Spot 1 Option B” location, but they told me they can’t have people doing that there.
They told me if I crossed the street I’d be fine, so I moved across the street like they suggested. About an hour or two later another cruiser pulled up because someone called again while I was trying to capture the Starlux A350 coming into KONT.
The officer talked with me, I explained again that I’m an aviation photographer, and she said she knew I was just out there photographing planes landing and let me continue spotting until around 5 PM (it was about 3 PM at the time).
I ended up spotting there for about 6 hours total and still got some great shots, but just wanted to mention that I was told by police that Spot 1 Option B may not be allowed.
Also please update that Starlux Airlines now flies to ONT
Update for Spot 1 (As of June 28, 2025)
I walk further out from Spot 1 to a point closer to the runways. When I went, there appeared to be no change to the view caused by construction.
I would recommend this spot because you can also get shots of planes lining up and closer shots of landings. Takeoffs can also be viewed from behind.
What I saw on June 28: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcPwSqcDYIg
As of last friday, the dirt road spot on Haven Ave was closed off due to construction. I tried entering the FAA spot and it was closed and was called “tresspassin” if we did enter. Overall, we decided to stay at the starbucks and got good spots from it. 2 Approach angles, one from the approach overall and the second over the fence right into flare. Keep in mind there is an active railroad that may ruin a few shots.
Update for Spot#1. Construction has now begun both in front of and behind position 1. It seems they are building a factory, which means we can no longer walk on the gravel ground in front. You can still stand on the south side of E La Salle St, but your view is restricted, especially on the east side where the factory building is quite tall, making it hard to see the planes. There will be a lot of dust during the construction process, so please protect yourself with mask.
Hi, thanks for the update. Lets hope the negative effect is not a big impact as its such an important location.
-Julian
Regarding spot #5, might be safer to park and/or spot from the ARCO parking lot – there’s a convenience store right there as well, and I think you’re technically on public property in that case.
Hello 👋, is it possible to take pictures from the funrise toy store on Mission Boulevard? And if so, how will the pictures turn out? Thanks for the help
I live in Lacey washington.
I’ve been to ontario california once because I live in Washington
They have blocked off the dirt road now.
Do you mean the road to access spot #3 and #4? Can you provide a pic?
We brought our little boy (he loves airplanes) to spot 3 today. Only stayed maybe 20 min and saw 3 takeoffs and 2 landings of various size planes. Thank you so much for the spot!