INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – The pace of activity is picking up at airports in Ontario and Palm Springs in the days before Christmas and New Year’s.

Air Canada begins non-stop service between Palm Springs and Vancouver, Canada on Thursday. There will be three flights a week until April 15th.

Passenger volume has taxied for take-off at Ontario International Airport. It’s up 4 percent for the first 10 months of the year.

Ground workers at Southwest Airlines staged a protest at Ontario Tuesday. They’ve been negotiating for a new contract for more than three years. They’ve been without a pay raise for 4-years and they say that service to passengers is deteriorating. They are members of the Transport Workers Union.

Story Date: December 23, 2014