LAX focuses less on terminal expansion as passenger forecasts drop

LAX shifts focus from terminal expansion to infrastructure updates as passenger forecasts drop

An airliner seen through a window at a gate.

Sept. 6, 2024 3 AM PT

Plans to improve Los Angeles International Airport will shift from a focus on terminal expansion projects to modernizing outdated infrastructure as passenger forecasts for 2028 have dropped below previous estimates, airport officials said Thursday.

“We previously expected 110 million passengers in 2028. We now expect slightly more than 90 million,” Los Angeles World Airports Chief Executive John Ackerman said. “While our traffic’s improving, it’s not improving at the rate that we need it to be successful. So we simply don’t need additional capacity at this point. We don’t need additional terminals — we need to fix our core infrastructure.”

Passenger counts have steadily gone up at LAX but still haven’t reached prepandemic levels. More than 75 million passengers traveled through LAX in 2023. By comparison, the airport saw more than 88 million passengers in 2019.

The airport is undergoing a $30-billion overhaul to expand and modernize terminals and improve the way travelers navigate the airport. Ackerman said the new plans aren’t likely to change spending costs, but some funding will be redistributed as other needs, such as plumbing, are identified.

About half a billion dollars is currently allocated to infrastructure updates. LAWA Chief Development Officer Michael Christensen said that number will rise.

“You’re going to see a lot of movement in this happening over the next six to 12 months,” he said.

Among the scrapped goals is a multibillion-dollar plan to build another terminal and develop a new concourse branching from Terminal 1. The project, which would have added more than 12 gates, was already behind schedule, with construction initially supposed to start in 2022 and wrap ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Ackerman said those projects will get built if and when demand supports their need. The deferred funds will free up spending on some projects in the design and planning stage, such as a goal to renumber gates and terminals and improve signage for travelers. Airport officials previously designated $43 million to that project.

Christensen also addressed design plans to reconfigure access to the airport by adding ramps from Sepulveda Boulevard around the Hyatt Regency to 1 World Way with the hope of improving traffic flow. The goal would be for the bulk of that project to be done by the 2028 Olympics, but it would probably not be completed until later; details have not been finalized.

Officials said that the changes won’t affect several projects that are underway, such as the Automated People Mover train that is planned to open in January 2026. The 2.25-mile elevated train is expected to improve the traffic-choked horseshoe loop at 1 World Way by offering a new alternative for people to get in and out of LAX. Once the train is running, the ride-hail lot is also expected to move to a new location accessible by the People Mover.

The board of airport commissioners also approved the allocation of $78 million to renovate a nearby building to consolidate about 700 staffers to one place.

EAA Union Executive Director Marleen Fonseca said that she represents more than 600 employees who would be affected by this change and asked that officials seek their input on how the project may affect them.

“This is an opportunity to work collectively with your employees, to include them as a stakeholder,” Fonseca said.