Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the principal international airport serving Los Angeles and the wider Southern California region. It lies on the Pacific coast in the Westchester district of Los Angeles and uses the IATA and FAA code LAX and ICAO location indicator KLAX. The airport handled 73,709,564 passengers, 580,996 aircraft operations and 2,293,049 tons of cargo and mail in 2025.[1]
Location and role
LAX occupies a coastal site about 18 miles south-west of central Los Angeles. The airfield is bounded broadly by Westchester to the north, the communities of El Segundo and Lennox to the south and east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is owned by the City of Los Angeles and operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a self-supporting city department that also operates Van Nuys Airport.[2][3]
The airport is Southern California's largest passenger gateway and supports a mixture of local, connecting, domestic and long-haul international traffic. In June 2025 it offered scheduled service to 78 international destinations. Delta Air Lines carried the largest number of passengers during LAWA's 2025 financial year, followed by United Airlines and American Airlines; all three maintain substantial operations at the airport.[3]
LAX is also an important freight gateway for the Pacific Rim and the western United States. Cargo operations use facilities separate from the passenger terminals, with access to freight aprons and the regional road network. Passenger and cargo scale make LAX operationally distinct from the smaller commercial airports elsewhere in the Los Angeles metropolitan region.[1]
History
During the 1920s, aviators used part of the Bennett Rancho as an informal landing ground. The site became known as Mines Field after William W. Mines, who represented the landowners. Los Angeles City Council selected it for a municipal airport on 25 July 1928, and a lease for 640 acres took effect that October. The first permanent building, now called Hangar No. 1, was erected in 1929; the airport was formally dedicated in June 1930.[4][5]
The City of Los Angeles purchased the airfield in 1937 and developed it as Los Angeles Municipal Airport. During the Second World War the federal government controlled the site and nearby plants supported military-aircraft production. Los Angeles voters approved bonds for post-war expansion in 1945, allowing temporary passenger buildings and a larger airfield to be built.[5]
Four major airlines began service at the airport in December 1946, and Pan American followed in January 1947. The airport was renamed Los Angeles International Airport on 11 October 1949 after federal authorities classified it for international, intercontinental and long-range domestic operations.[5]
The present central-terminal form dates from the Jet Age rebuilding. Six satellite terminals and a seventh concourse opened progressively in 1961, linked to ticketing buildings by underground passages. The Theme Building at the centre of the complex became the airport's principal architectural symbol. The design put passenger buildings inside a horseshoe-shaped road system between the two runway complexes.[6]
The Tom Bradley International Terminal opened in 1984 before the Los Angeles Olympic Games. A major replacement and expansion programme subsequently created new departure and arrival halls, while the 15-gate West Gates concourse opened in May 2021. The West Gates are linked with the main Bradley building by a passenger tunnel and can handle both domestic and international flights.[7]
Terminals
LAX has nine passenger terminals: Terminals 1 to 8 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal, also identified as Terminal B. They surround the two-level World Way road loop in the central terminal area. The West Gates are a remote concourse of the Bradley terminal rather than a tenth independent terminal.[8][7]
Terminals 1, 2 and 3 occupy the northern side of the loop. Terminal 1 is used principally by Southwest and includes an extension from which some airlines transfer passengers by airfield bus. Terminals 2 and 3 form the core of Delta's complex and have been extensively rebuilt with shared check-in, security and baggage facilities.[8]
The Bradley terminal occupies the western end and handles many international carriers, together with flights assigned to its West Gates. Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 on the southern side are the principal American Airlines facilities. Terminals 6, 7 and 8 accommodate Alaska, Air Canada, United and other carriers, although assignments may change and some airlines check passengers in at one terminal for departure from another.[8]
Post-security connections exist between large parts of the terminal system, but the route is not identical for every itinerary and can involve long walks or an airfield shuttle. Current airport and airline instructions are therefore more reliable than a fixed allocation list.[8][9]
Runways and airfield
The four parallel runways form a north complex and a south complex. Current FAA data lists the following physical dimensions:[2][10]
| Runway | Physical dimensions |
| 06L/24R | 8,926 x 150 ft (2,721 x 46 m) |
| 06R/24L | 10,885 x 150 ft (3,318 x 46 m) |
| 07L/25R | 12,923 x 150 ft (3,939 x 46 m) |
| 07R/25L | 11,095 x 200 ft (3,382 x 61 m) |
The airport normally operates in a westerly flow, with arrivals and departures oriented towards or away from the Pacific according to traffic sequencing and noise procedures. Actual runway availability varies with maintenance, weather and construction. Crews use current declared distances and NOTAMs rather than treating the physical pavement length as the distance available for every operation.[2][10]
Passenger and airline operations
Calendar-year traffic in 2025 comprised approximately 50.11 million domestic passengers and 23.60 million international passengers. Total passengers declined by 3.76 per cent from the revised 2024 figure of 76,585,861. LAWA reported LAX as the fifth-busiest airport in the United States by passenger volume using preliminary 2025 comparisons.[1]
LAX does not depend on a single dominant airline. Delta, United and American each operate large networks and maintain airport facilities, while Southwest and Alaska are also major domestic operators. Foreign airlines provide direct long-haul services, particularly across the Pacific and to Europe and Latin America.[3][8]
Cargo
The airport handled 2,293,049 tons of cargo and mail in 2025, a decline of 4.65 per cent from 2,404,912 tons in 2024. LAWA reports cargo separately from passenger traffic and includes both freight and mail in its regional comparison.[1]
Cargo facilities lie mainly on the southern side of the airport and around Imperial Highway, separate from the passenger-terminal road loop. Operations include dedicated freighters and freight carried in the holds of passenger aircraft. The airport's Pacific-facing network makes international cargo a particularly important part of its aviation role.[1][3]
Ground transport
Road traffic reaches the central terminal area from Sepulveda Boulevard, Century Boulevard and connecting motorways. The World Way loop has an upper departures level and lower arrivals level. FlyAway coaches link the terminals with Union Station and Van Nuys, while public buses, taxis, ride-app services, hotel shuttles and private vehicles also serve LAX.[11]
The LAX/Metro Transit Center opened on 6 June 2025 at Aviation Boulevard and 96th Street. It is served by Metro's C and K light-rail lines and by local and regional buses. Free airport shuttles connect the station with the passenger terminals while the SkyLink train remains unavailable to passengers.[12][13]
LAX's consolidated Rental Car Center became fully operational in March 2026, bringing 12 on-airport rental brands into one 6.4-million-square-foot complex. Shuttle buses provide the passenger connection until the automated train opens.[14]
Modernisation
LAWA is carrying out a multi-project transformation covering terminal reconstruction, airfield work and landside access. Completed elements include the West Gates, expansions of Terminals 1 and 3, the Metro transit centre, economy parking and the consolidated Rental Car Center. Work continues in and around several terminals and taxiways.[7][14][10]
SkyLink, formerly called the Automated People Mover, is a 2.25-mile elevated electric railway with six stations. Three stations are inside the central terminal area and three serve economy parking and ground transport, the Metro transit centre and the Rental Car Center. LAWA's current project page describes the system as forthcoming; it had not opened for passenger service by 29 August 2026.[13]
Separate Airfield and Terminal Modernisation Program works include new access roads, terminal development and airfield changes. Project schedules and temporary closures can change, so proposed terminals and transport facilities should not be represented as operating until LAWA confirms their opening.[10][15]
Traffic statistics
| Year | Passengers | Aircraft operations | Cargo and mail |
| 2024 | 76,585,861 | 581,779 | 2,404,912 tons |
| 2025 | 73,709,564 | 580,996 | 2,293,049 tons |
Aircraft operations count both landings and take-offs. The figures above use calendar years, which differ from the financial-year totals in LAWA's financial statements.[1]
Related pages
Sources
2025 Aviation Activity Analysis - Los Angeles World Airports, June 2026
FAA eNASR: Los Angeles International Airport - Federal Aviation Administration, updated 11 June 2026
LAX early history - Los Angeles World Airports, accessed 29 August 2026
LAX historic resources - Los Angeles World Airports, 2026
Sixtieth anniversary of the Jet Age terminals - Los Angeles World Airports, 22 July 2021
West Gates opening - Los Angeles World Airports, 24 May 2021
LAX airline location map - Los Angeles World Airports, 1 July 2025
FY 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report - Los Angeles World Airports, 2025
FAA Q2 2026 Airport Construction Impact Report - Federal Aviation Administration, 2026
LAX/Metro Transit Center opening - Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 6 June 2025
SkyLink project - Los Angeles World Airports, accessed 29 August 2026
Rental Car Center opening - Los Angeles World Airports, 11 March 2026
Image source and licence: LAX Aerial - formulanone, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
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