Flights delayed at LA/ONT due to ice

Passengers at LA/Ontario International Airport may have been surprised to find out their flights were either delayed or cancelled Wednesday morning because of ice.

Much of the Inland Empire has been experiencing freezing temperature and on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, the airport has had to cancelled or delay numerous morning flights because of ice that had accumulated on airplanes, said Maria Tesoro-Fermin, the airport's spokeswoman.

"Because the airport does not have any deicing mechanism we had to let mother nature help us out," she said.

De-icing is the process of removing frozen contaminant such as snow, ice, slush, from a surface using a chemical to melt it down. The equipment is common at airports that experience freezing temperatures, she said.

"It's not an everyday occurrence at the airport so we just had to wait for the ice to melt," Tesoro-Fermin said.

Allowing the ice to melt is necessary because the ice can get into the engine or jam control surfaces, which could prevent them from moving properly.

On Tuesday nine flights were either cancelled or delayed and another four planes were affected by the ice on Wednesday morning, Tesoro-Fermin said.

Passengers are encouraged to contact their airline to make sure their flight has not been delayed or cancelled, she said.