Los Angeles International Airport

IATA: LAX ICAO: KLAX FAA LID: LAX WMO: 72295
Airport type	Public
Owner	City of  Los Angeles
Operator	Los Angeles World Airports
Serves	Los Angeles metropolitan area, Inland Empire metropolitan area
Location	Westchester, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Opened	1930
Hub for	Passenger airlines : Alaska Airlines,American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Cargo airlines: Atlas Air
Focus city for	Air New Zealand, Allegiant Air, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Qantas, Southwest Airlines, Volaris
Built	1928
Elevation AMSL	128 ft / 39 m
Coordinates	33°56′33″N 118°24′29″WCoordinates: 33°56′33″N 118°24′29″W
Website	www.flylax.com

Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX), commonly referred to as LAX (with each of its letters pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California, and its surrounding metropolitan area.

LAX is located in the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, 18 miles (30 km) southwest of downtown Los Angeles, with the commercial and residential areas of Westchester to the north, the city of El Segundo to the south and the city of Inglewood to the east. Owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), an agency of the government of Los Angeles, formerly known as the Department of Airports, the airport covers 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) of land. LAX has four parallel runways.

In 2019, LAX handled 88,068,013 passengers, making it the world’s third busiest and the United States’ second busiest airport following Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. As the largest and busiest international airport on the U.S. West Coast, LAX is a major international gateway to the United States, and also serves a connection point for passengers traveling internationally. The airport holds the record for the world’s busiest origin and destination airport, since relative to other airports, many more travelers begin or end their trips in Los Angeles than use it as a connection. It is also the only airport to rank among the top five U.S. airports for both passenger and cargo traffic.

LAX serves as a hub or focus city for more passenger airlines than any other airport in the United States. It is the only airport that four U.S. legacy carriers (Alaska, American, Delta and United) have designated as a hub and is a focus city for Air New Zealand, Allegiant Air, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Qantas, Southwest Airlines, and Volaris. While LAX is the busiest airport in the Greater Los Angeles Area, several other airports, including Hollywood Burbank Airport, John Wayne Airport, Long Beach Airport, as well as Ontario International Airport, also serve the area.

Runways

24R/06L and 24L/06R (designated the North Airfield Complex) are north of the airport terminals, and 25R/07L and 25L/07R (designated the South Airfield Complex) are south of the airport terminals.

Since 1972, Los Angeles World Airports has adopted the “Preferential Runway Use Policy” to minimize noise. During daylight hours (0630 to 0000), the normal air traffic pattern is the “Westerly Operations” plan, named for the prevailing west winds. Under “Westerly Operations”, departing aircraft take off to the west, and arriving aircraft approach from the east. To reduce noise from arriving aircraft during night hours (0000 to 0630), the air traffic pattern becomes “Over-Ocean Operations”. Under “Over-Ocean”, departing aircraft continue to take off to the west, but arriving aircraft approach from the west unless otherwise required to approach from the east due to reduced visibility or easterly winds. As the name implies, “Easterly Operations” is used when prevailing winds have shifted to originate from the east, typically during inclement weather and Santa Ana conditions. Under “Easterly Operations”, departing aircraft take off to the east, and arriving aircraft approach from the west.

The “inboard” runways (06R/24L and 07L/25R, closest to the central terminal area) are preferred for departures, and the “outboard” runways are preferred for arrivals. During noise-sensitive hours (2200 to 0700) and “Over-Ocean Operations”, the “inboard” runways are used preferentially, with arrivals shifting primarily to 06R/24L and departures from 07L/25R. Historically, over 90% of flights have used the “inboard” departures and “outboard” arrivals scheme.

During westbound operations during the daytime, airplanes parked on the north complex tend to use Runway 6R/24L for almost all departures, and airplanes parked on the south complex use Runway 7L/25R for all departures requiring the left turn, and Runway 24L if they are making an immediate right turn. For arrivals, flights coming from the north tend to use Runway 6L/24R, and flights coming from the south tend to use Runway 7R/25L. For flights having a long final westbound, it could depend.

The South Airfield Complex tends to see more operations than the North, due to a larger number of passenger gates and air cargo operations.Runways in the North Airfield Complex are separated by 700 feet (210 m).  Plans have been advanced and approved to increase the separation by 260 feet (79 m), which would allow a central taxiway between runways, despite opposition from residents living north of LAX.  The separation between the two runways in the South Airfield Complex has already increased by 55 feet (17 m) to accommodate a central taxiway.

During westbound operations during the daytime, airplanes taking off to the west with an eastbound destination will generally depart the south runways and make a left turn over the Palos Verdes Peninsula, due to terrain and airspace conflicts with the nearby Santa Monica Airport and Burbank Airport. Meanwhile, northbound flights primarily depart the north runways, climbing over the Santa Monica Bay. Westbound flights may depart either complex, as air traffic demands dictate.

Terminals

LAX has nine passenger terminals with a total of 132 gates arranged in the shape of the letter U or a horseshoe that are identified by numbers except for the Tom Bradley International Terminal. The Midfield Satellite Concourse North, an expansion for international flights reached through the Tom Bradley Terminal, is scheduled to open by the summer of 2020.^{[citation needed]} There are 2 million square feet (190,000 m²) of cargo facilities at LAX, and a heliport operated by Bravo Aviation.

Future developments

LAWA currently has several plans to modernize LAX. These include terminal and runway improvements, which will enhance the passenger experience, reduce overcrowding, and provide airport access to the latest class of very large passenger aircraft.

These improvements include:

• New crossfield taxiway
• New large aircraft gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT)
• TBIT core improvements
• $1.3 billion “Midfield Satellite Concourse North” adding 12 gates.
• Replacement of Central Utility Plant
• Terminal and Runway Improvements
• New terminal “9” east of Sepulveda Boulevard  and Concourse “0” east of terminal 1.

A 24-hour automated people mover is under construction. This small train will include three stations in the central terminal area and three outside east of the terminals at a new intermodal transportation facility hub, connecting passengers between the central terminal area and the Metro Green Line, the future Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line regional, local bus lines and a consolidated car rental facility.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

1. ^ Qantas also flies to/from New York–JFK, but only for international, connecting traffic. Due to U.S. federal law, foreign airlines may not transport revenue passengers solely between U.S. destinations.

Cargo

Top domestic destinations

Top international destinations

Access

Transiting between terminals

Shuttles operate to and from the terminals, providing frequent service for connecting passengers. However, connecting passengers who use these shuttles must leave and then later reenter security. Tunnels connect between terminals 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and an above-ground connector between TBIT and terminal 4 opened in February 2016. People don’t generally have to leave and reenter through security checkpoints.

Bus

LAX City Bus Center

The closest bus stops to the terminals are the pair of opposites on Sepulveda Boulevard and Century Boulevard, served by Metro 117, Torrance 8, Metro 232, Commuter Express 574, Metro 102 to USC and the Metro Expo line, and Metro 40 to Los Angeles Union Station (owl service only).

In addition, out of a number of bus systems, many routes (local, rapid and express) of the LACMTA Metro 232 to Long Beach, Line 8 of Torrance Transit, Line 109 of Beach Cities Transit, the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus system’s Line 3 and Rapid 3 via Lincoln Boulevard to Santa Monica and the Culver CityBus’s Line 6 and Rapid 6 via Sepulveda Blvd to Culver City and UCLA, LADOT Commuter Express 438 to Downtown LA (Monday-Friday Rush hours AM) and Commuter Express 439 to Downtown LA (Monday-Friday Rush hours PM), all make stops at the LAX Transit Center in Parking Lot C. on 96th St.,  where shuttle bus “C” offers free connections to and from every LAX terminal, and at the Green Line, where shuttle bus “G” connects to and from the terminals.

The Taiwanese airline China Airlines operates a bus service from LAX to Monterey Park and Rowland Heights. This service is only available for China Airlines customers.

FlyAway Bus

The FlyAway Bus is a nonstop motorcoach/shuttle service run by the LAWA, which provides scheduled service between LAX and Downtown Los Angeles (Union Station), the San Fernando Valley (Van Nuys), Hollywood, and Long Beach. The shuttle service stops at every LAX terminal. The service hours vary based on the line. All lines use the regional system of High Occupancy Vehicle lanes to expedite their trips. The Los Angeles Union Station service and a late-night branch of Metro Local route 40 are the only direct transit links between the airport and Downtown Los Angeles.

Metro Rail

Shuttle bus “G” offers a free connection to and from the Aviation/LAX station on the Los Angeles Metro Rail Green Line.

LAX Train

The LAX automated people mover (APM) is an electric train system currently under construction by LAWA. The LAX APM will be 2.25 miles (3.62 km) in traveling distance and will have six stations serving the central area, terminals 1–8, and the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Once leaving the three terminal stations, heading east, the first station is a ground transportation parking structure called the “Intermodal Transportation Facility-West” that will serve employee parking, surrounding hotel access and long term airport parking. The next station will be a second car/bus/bike transport facility called the “Intermodal Transport Facility-East” as well as LA Metro Rail’s platform, the under construction ground infill transit transfer station on the LAX/Crenshaw Metro Line. At this multi-station stop, the first (floor) level will be ground transportation. The second level will be a bridge from the main hub to the light rail platform and APM platform. The third level will be the APM platform. The last stop on the APM will be a rental car hub station called the Consolidated Rent-A-Car-Center (CONRAC). All the car rental companies and rentals will be here. The APM was designed to decrease the need for shuttle bus services and reduce traffic within the terminals World Way. The APM will have nine total trains, each operating in four car sets with capacity of containing up to 200 passengers. The APM will operate every two minutes, with a ten minute end-to-end travel time.

Los Angeles had bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics in 2016 and was one of two city finalists, due to decreasing demand to host the Olympics, the IOC awarded both Los Angeles and the city of Paris with Olympic games each, Los Angeles being awarded the latter, the 2028 Summer Olympics. The project will be completed in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in 2023 as its original projected completion date was by 2024 before the awarding. They choose to retain the original deadline.  LAWA has split the project in three phases. The project has been approved and the construction and operating bidding process was commenced. Three firms submitted bids and LAWA announced scoring for the project would be based on “technical merit, visual appeal, user experience and price”.  LAWA proposed a public private partnership wherein a private sector partner would responsible for the construction and operation of the people mover.  Los Angeles City Council gave final approval on April 11, 2018 to “LAX Integrated Express Solutions”. The joint bid that included manufacturer Bombardier Transportation at 4.895 Billion over 30 years to build and operate. The three phase project is estimated to cost $5.5 billion, and have a completion date of 2023.

Accidents and incidents

During its history there have been numerous incidents, but only the most notable are summarized below:

1930s

• On January 23, 1939, the sole prototype Douglas 7B twin-engine attack bomber, designed and built as a company project, suffered a loss of the vertical fin and rudder during a demonstration flight over Mines Field, flat spun into the parking lot of North American Aviation, and burned. Another source states that the test pilot, in an attempt to impress the Gallic passenger, attempted a snap roll at low altitude with one engine feathered, resulting in the fatal spin. Douglas test pilot Johnny Cable bailed out at 300 feet, his chute unfurled but did not have time to deploy, he was killed on impact, the flight engineer John Parks rode in the airframe and died, but 33-year-old French Air Force Capt. Paul Chemidlin, riding in the aft fuselage near the top turret, survived with a broken leg, severe back injuries, and a slight concussion. The presence of Chemidlin, a representative of a foreign purchasing mission, caused a furor in Congress by isolationists over neutrality and export laws. The type was developed as the Douglas DB-7.

1940s

• On June 1, 1940, the first Douglas R3D-1 for the U.S. Navy, BuNo 1901, crashed at Mines Field, before delivery. The Navy later acquired the privately owned DC-5 prototype, from William E. Boeing as a replacement.
• On November 20, 1940, the prototype NA-73X Mustang, NX19998, first flown October 26, 1940, by test pilot Vance Breese, crashed this date. According to P-51 designer Edgar Schmued, the NA-73 was lost because test pilot Paul Balfour refused, before a high-speed test run, to go through the takeoff and flight test procedure with Schmued while the aircraft was on the ground, claiming “one airplane was like another”. After making two high speed passes over Mines Field, he forgot to put the fuel valve on “reserve” and during the third pass ran out of fuel. An emergency landing in a freshly plowed field caused the wheels to dig in, the aircraft flipped over, the airframe was not rebuilt, the second aircraft being used for subsequent testing.
• On October 26, 1944, WASP pilot Gertrude Tompkins Silver of the 601st Ferrying Squadron, 5th Ferrying Group, Love Field, Dallas, Texas, departed Los Angeles Airport, in a North American P-51D Mustang, 44-15669, at 1600 hrs PWT, headed for the East Coast. She took off into the wind, into an offshore fog bank, and was expected that night at Palm Springs. She never arrived. Due to a paperwork foul-up, a search did not get under way for several days, and while the eventual search of land and sea was massive, it failed to find a trace of Silver or her plane. She is the only missing WASP pilot. She had married Sgt. Henry Silver one month before her disappearance.

1960s

• On January 13, 1969, Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933 Douglas DC-8-62, crashed into Santa Monica Bay, approximately 6 nautical miles (11 km) west of LAX at 7:21 pm, local time. The aircraft was operating as flight SK-933, nearing the completion of a flight from Seattle. Of nine crewmembers, three lost their lives to drowning, while 12 of the 36 passengers also drowned.
• On January 18, 1969, United Airlines Flight 266 a Boeing 727-200 bearing the registration number N7434U, crashed into Santa Monica Bay approximately 11.3 miles (18.2 km) west of LAX at 6:21 pm local time. The aircraft was destroyed, resulting in the loss of all 32 passengers and six crew members aboard.

1970s

• On the evening of June 6, 1971, Hughes Airwest Flight 706, a Douglas DC-9 jetliner that had departed LAX on a flight to Salt Lake City, Utah, was struck nine minutes after takeoff by a U.S. Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter jet over the San Gabriel Mountains. The midair collision killed all 44 passengers and five crew members aboard the DC-9 airliner and one of two crewmen aboard the military jet.
• On August 6, 1974, a bomb exploded near the Pan Am ticketing area at Terminal 2; three people were killed and 35 were injured.
• On March 1, 1978, two tires burst in succession on a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 on Continental Airlines Flight 603 during its takeoff roll at LAX and the plane, bound for Honolulu, veered off the runway. A third tire burst and the DC-10’s left landing gear collapsed, causing a fuel tank to rupture. Following the aborted takeoff, spilled fuel ignited and enveloped the center portion of the aircraft in flames. During the ensuing emergency evacuation, a husband and wife died when they exited the passenger cabin onto the wing and dropped down directly into the flames. Two additional passengers died of their injuries approximately three months after the accident; 74 others aboard the plane were injured, as were 11 firemen battling the fire.
• On the evening of March 10, 1979, Swift Aire Flight 235, a twin-engine Aerospatiale Nord 262A-33 turboprop en route to Santa Maria, was forced to ditch in Santa Monica Bay after experiencing engine problems upon takeoff from LAX. The pilot, co-pilot and a female passenger drowned when they were unable to exit the aircraft after the ditching. The female flight attendant and the three remaining passengers—two men and a pregnant woman—survived and were rescued by several pleasure boats and other watercraft in the vicinity.

1980s

• On August 31, 1986, Aeroméxico Flight 498, a DC-9 en route from Mexico City, Mexico to Los Angeles, began its descent into LAX when a Piper Cherokee collided with the DC-9’s left horizontal stabilizer over Cerritos, causing the DC-9 to crash into a residential neighborhood. All 67 people on the two aircraft were killed, in addition to 15 people on the ground. 5 homes were destroyed and an additional 7 were damaged by the crash and resulting fire. The Piper went down in a nearby schoolyard and caused no further injuries on the ground. As a result of this incident, the FAA required all commercial aircraft to be equipped with Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS).

1990s

• On February 1, 1991, USAir Flight 1493 (arriving from Columbus, Ohio), a Boeing 737-300, landing on runway 24L at LAX, collided on touchdown with a SkyWest Airlines Fairchild Metroliner, Flight 5569 departing to Palmdale. The Skywest plane was given clearance to wait on the runway for takeoff. The same controller then gave the USAir plane clearance to land on the same runway, forgetting that the SkyWest plane was there. The collision killed all 12 occupants of the SkyWest plane and 23 people aboard the USAir 737.

2000s

• Al-Qaeda attempted to bomb LAX on New Year’s Eve 1999/2000. The bomber, Algerian Ahmed Ressam, was captured in Port Angeles, Washington, the U.S. port of entry, with a cache of explosives that could have produced a blast 40 times greater than that of a car bomb hidden in the trunk of the rented car in which he had traveled from Canada. He had planned to leave one or two suitcases filled with explosives in an LAX passenger waiting area. He was initially sentenced to 22 years in prison, but in February 2010 an appellate court ordered that his sentence be extended.
• On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 jetliner flying from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to San Francisco and Seattle, requested an emergency landing at LAX after experiencing problems with its tail-mounted horizontal stabilizer. Before the plane could divert to Los Angeles, it suddenly plummeted into the Pacific Ocean approximately 2.7 miles (4.3 km) north of Anacapa Island off the California coast, killing all 88 people aboard.
• Three of the four planes hijacked on September 11, 2001 were bound for LAX.
• In the 2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting of July 4, 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet killed two Israelis at the ticket counter of El Al Airlines at LAX. Although the gunman was not linked to any terrorist group, the man was upset at U.S. support for Israel, and therefore was motivated by political disagreement. This led the FBI to classify this shooting as a terrorist act,  one of the few on U.S. soil since the September 11 attacks.
• On September 21, 2005, JetBlue Flight 292, an Airbus A320 discovered a problem with its landing gear as it took off from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. It flew in circles for three hours to burn off fuel, then landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport on runway 25L, balancing on its back wheels as it rolled down the center of the runway. Passengers were able to watch their own coverage live from the satellite broadcast on JetBlue in-flight TV seat displays of their plane as it made an emergency landing with the front landing gear visibly becoming damaged. Because JetBlue did not serve LAX at the time, the aircraft was evaluated and repaired at a Continental Airlines hangar.
• On July 29, 2006, after America West Express Flight 6008, a Canadair Regional Jet operated by Mesa Airlines from Phoenix, Arizona, landed on runway 25L, controllers instructed the pilot to leave the runway on a taxiway known as “Mike” and stop short of runway 25R. Even though the pilot read back the instructions correctly, he accidentally taxied onto 25R and into the path of a departing SkyWest Airlines Embraer EMB-120 operating United Express Flight 6037 to Monterey. They cleared each other by 50 feet (15 m) and nobody was hurt.
• On August 16, 2007, a runway incursion occurred between WestJet Flight 900 and Northwest Airlines Flight 180 on runways 24R and 24L, respectively, with the aircraft coming within 37 feet (11 m) of each other. The planes were carrying a combined total of 296 people, none of whom were injured. The NTSB concluded that the incursion was the result of controller error. In September 2007, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey stressed the need for LAX to increase lateral separation between its pair of north runways in order to preserve the safety and efficiency of the airport.

2010s

• On October 13 and 14, 2013, two incidents of dry ice bomb explosions occurred at the airport. The first dry ice bomb exploded at 7:00 p.m. in an employee restroom in Terminal 2, with no injuries. Terminal 2 was briefly shut down as a result. On the next day at 8:30 p.m., a dry ice bomb exploded on the ramp area near the Tom Bradley International Terminal, also without injuries. Two other plastic bottles containing dry ice were found at the scene during the second explosion. On October 15, a 28-year-old airport employee was arrested in connection with the explosions and was booked on charges of possession of an explosive or destructive device near an aircraft.  On October 18, a 41-year-old airport employee was arrested in connection with the second explosion, and was booked on suspicion of possessing a destructive device near an aircraft.  Authorities believe that the incidents were not linked to terrorism.  Both men subsequently pleaded no contest and were each sentenced to three years’ probation. The airport workers had removed dry ice from a cargo hold into which a dog was to be loaded, because of fears that the dry ice could harm the animal.
• In the 2013 Los Angeles International Airport shooting of November 1, 2013, at around 9:31 a.m. PDT, a lone gunman entered Terminal 3 and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle, killing a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer and wounding three other people. The gunman was later apprehended and taken into custody. Until the situation was clarified and under control, a few terminals at the airport were evacuated, all inbound flights were diverted and all outbound flights were grounded until the airport began returning to normal operation at around 2:30 p.m.
• On August 28, 2016, there was a false report of shots fired throughout the airport, causing a temporary lock down and about 3 hours of flight delays.
• On May 20, 2017, Aeroméxico Flight 642, a Boeing 737-800, collided with a utility truck on a taxiway near Runway 25R, injuring 8 people, two of them seriously.

Aircraft spotting

The “Imperial Hill” area in El Segundo is a prime location for aircraft spotting, especially for takeoffs. Part of the Imperial Hill area has been set aside as a city park, Clutter’s Park.

Another popular spotting location sits under the final approach for runways 24 L&R on a lawn next to the Westchester In-N-Out Burger on Sepulveda Boulevard. This is one of the few remaining locations in Southern California from which spotters may watch such a wide variety of low-flying commercial airliners from directly underneath a flight path.

One can also do aircraft spotting at a small park in the take-off pattern that (normally) goes out over the Pacific. The park is on the East side of the street Vista Del Mar from where it takes its name, Vista Del Mar Park.

Space Shuttle Endeavour

At 12:51 p.m. on Friday, September 21, 2012, a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft carrying the Space Shuttle Endeavour landed at LAX on runway 25L. An estimated 10,000 people saw the shuttle land. Interstate 105 was backed up for miles at a standstill. Imperial Highway was shut down for spectators. It was quickly taken off the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Boeing 747, and was moved to a United Airlines hangar. The shuttle spent about a month in the hangar while it was prepared to be transported to the California Science Center.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airport

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