Lot 1 International Arrivals Terminal

30–60 minutes while someone clears customs? This is the lot.

Lot 1 International Arrivals Terminal sits right next to ONT’s international terminal (IT), about a 1-minute walk from the arrivals hall doors. It’s signed everywhere as short stay, not overnight, and the daily rate runs $20, which adds up fast if you treat it like regular parking. Think “meet a flight from Mexico or Asia, walk in, grab your person, walk out,” not “park and go to T2 or T4.”

Pricing in Lot 1 is structured for quick turnover, with short-term use emphasized on ONT’s parking page and on the drive-in signage at the international curb. Reviews mention the airport effectively treating anything beyond about an hour as out-of-bounds for this section, with rates jumping once you move past the true pickup window. If you’re going to be longer than a single customs cycle, Lot 2 or Lot 4 is built for that, not this pad right at IT.

Several Google reviewers talk about parking here for 30–45 minutes while family clears CBP, because it’s the only lot right by the international arrivals entrance. Enforcement staff patrol the curb and this lot, and they’ll nudge drivers who idle or stretch their stay, which pushes regulars into a rhythm of “park, check flight status, walk in, walk out,” instead of camping out in their cars. Think short leash, high access.

Watch out for the signage near IT: more than one driver says they mixed up this international short-term lot with general parking and got tagged with higher short-term pricing for what they thought would be a cheap quick stop. Regulars on Google Maps say they only use Lot 1 for international meet-and-greet, then default to Lot 2 or Lot 4 for domestic flights in T2 or T4. One practical move: if the flight looks delayed 45+ minutes, start in the free Cell Phone Waiting Lot and only swing into Lot 1 once the plane is on the ground.