Amazon is set to cease all air operations at March Air Field in May of this year, the company confirmed in a statement to The Riverside Record.
“We’re always evaluating our network to make sure it fits our business needs and to improve the experience for our employees, customers and partners,” said Sam Stephenson, Amazon spokesperson, in an emailed statement. “We’ve made the decision to cease operations at our Riverside Air facility.”
According to Stephenson, operations at the base are similar to other regional hubs around the country in that it acts as a sorting center with packages coming in, getting sorted and then either being flown or driven out to other fulfillment centers closer to their final destinations in the Inland Empire. He said there would be no impact on customers.
Riverside Councilmember Chuck Conder, who has been a member of the March Joint Powers Authority [March JPA] Commission since 2020, said in an interview with The Record that he was first made aware of Amazon’s decision about three weeks ago.
“It had nothing to do with any failures at March [Air Field], with either the March Air Reserve Base operations or the Joint Powers [Authority] people,” he said. “It’s simply a consolidation of [Amazon’s] assets.”
Conder’s statement echoed that of Grace Martin, chief executive officer of the March JPA, who said that the decision was for business purposes and had nothing to do with relationships with the base or the airport.
“We’ve had a very positive working relationship with Amazon and wish them all the best in their transition efforts,” she said in an email to The Record. “March Inland Port Airport remains an active civilian partner to the March Air Reserve Base, and we continue to work together toward the success of our joint-use airport.”
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Conder said that while Amazon will not be continuing its operations at the airport, he said the company would maintain its lease through the end of 2028.
Supervisor Jose Medina, who also serves on the March JPA Commission, said in an interview with The Record that he received a call last week from someone at Amazon who briefed him on the company’s decision. Medina said he was told the move would impact approximately 400 jobs.
Stephenson said that all impacted employees would be able to transfer to other nearby facilities. According to Amazon, the company has “more than three dozen sites within 50 miles that offer comparable shifts, pay and benefits.”
“I am sorry to see jobs leave our area,” Medina said, noting that he was happy to hear that those impacted would have the option to transfer.
Amazon Air first started operations at March Air Reserve Base in 2018 after the March JPA Commission voted 6-2 to allow the company to operate up to 10 flights per day at the airport — five flights in and five flights out — a number that Conder said he didn’t think Amazon ever reached.
“Recently, they’ve been down to three flights in, three flights out, for many, many, many months,” he said.
Medina said that Amazon ceasing airport operations at the airport was seemingly part of an ongoing transition at the base that he expected would continue over the coming years.
“We will see perhaps more of that,” he said. “And, for me, it shows the importance of March Air Force Base as a strategic location for our national military, and I would like to see it continue to be that as we move forward.”
The Record did not hear back from representatives for March Air Reserve Base prior to publication.
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