Los Angeles International Airport - History

History

In 1928, the Los Angeles City Council selected 640 acres (1.00 sq mi; 260 ha) in the southern part of Westchester as the site of a new airport for the city. The fields of wheat, barley and lima beans were converted into dirt landing strips without any terminal buildings. It was named Mines Field for William W. Mines, the real estate agent who arranged the deal. The first structure, Hangar No. 1, was erected in 1929 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Mines Field was dedicated and opened as the official airport of Los Angeles in 1930, and the city purchased it to be a municipal airfield in 1937. The name was officially changed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941, and to Los Angeles International Airport in 1949. The main airline airports for Los Angeles had been Burbank Airport (then known as Union Air Terminal, and later Lockheed) in Burbank, California and the Grand Central Airport in Glendale. By 1940 most airlines served Burbank only; in late 1946 most airline flights moved to LAX, but Burbank always retained a few.

Mines Field did not extend west of Sepulveda Boulevard (backwards 1939 aerial view); Sepulveda was rerouted c. 1950 to loop around the west ends of the extended east-west runways (now runways 25L and 25R), which by November 1950 were 6,000 feet (1,800 m) long. (Aerial view looking south) A tunnel was completed in 1953 allowing Sepulveda Boulevard to revert to straight and pass beneath the two runways; it was the first tunnel of its kind. For the next few years the two runways were 8,500 feet (2,600 m) long.

On July 10, 1956 Boeing's 707 prototype (the 367-80) visited LAX. The Los Angeles Times said it was its first appearance at a "commercial airport" outside the Seattle area.

The April 1957 Official Airline Guide showed 66 weekday departures on United Airlines, 32 American Airlines, 32 Western Airlines, 27 TWA, 9 Southwest, 5 Bonanza Air Lines and 3 Mexicana Airlines; also 22 flights a week on Pan American World Airways and 5 a week on Scandinavian Airlines (the only direct flights to Europe).

In 1958 the architecture firm Pereira & Luckman was contracted to design a master plan for the complete re-design of the airport in anticipation of the "jet age." The plan, developed along with architects Welton Becket and Paul Williams, called for a massive series of terminals and parking structures to be built in the central portion of the property, with these buildings connected at the center by a huge steel-and-glass dome. The plan was never realized, and shortly thereafter the Theme Building was constructed on the site originally intended for the dome.

American Airlines' 707-123s flew the first jet passengers out of LAX to New York in January 1959; the first wide-body jets were TWA's Boeing 747s to New York in early 1970. All terminals were originally satellite buildings out in the middle of the tarmac, reached by underground tunnels from the ticketing area.

In 1981 the airport began a $700 million expansion in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics. To streamline traffic flow and ease congestion the U-shaped roadway leading to the terminal entrances was given a second level, with the lower level for arriving passengers and the upper level for departing. Connector buildings between the ticketing areas and the satellite buildings were added, changing the gate layout to a "pier" design and completely enclosing the facilities. Two new terminals (Terminal 1 and the International Terminal) were constructed and Terminal 2, then two decades old, was rebuilt. Multi-story parking structures were also built in the center of the airport.

On July 8, 1982, groundbreaking for the two new terminals were conducted by Mayor Tom Bradley and World War II aviator General James Doolittle. The $123 million, 963,000-square-foot (89,500 m2) International Terminal was opened on June 11, 1984, and named in Bradley's honor.

On April 29, 1992 the airport was closed for violence and cleanups after the 1992 Los Angeles Riots over the Rodney King beating.

The airport was closed again on January 17, 1994 due to the Northridge earthquake.

In 1996 a $29 million, 277-foot-tall (84 m) air traffic control tower was built near the Theme Building.

In 2000, before Los Angeles hosted the Democratic National Convention, fifteen glass pylons up to ten stories high were placed in a circle around the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Century Boulevard, with additional pylons of decreasing height following Century Boulevard eastward, evoking a sense of departure and arrival. Conceived by the designers at Selbert Perkins Design, the towers and 30 foot "LAX" letters provide a gateway to the airport and offer a welcoming landmark for visitors. Illuminated from the inside, the pylons slowly cycle through a rainbow of colors that represents the multicultural makeup of Los Angeles and can be customized to celebrate events, holidays or a season. This was part of an overall face-lift that included new signage and various other cosmetic enhancements that was led by Ted Tokio Tanaka Architects. The LAX pylons underwent improvements in 2006, as stage lighting inside the cylinders was replaced with LED lights to conserve energy, make maintenance easier and enable on-demand cycling through various color effects.

At various times LAX has been a hub for TWA, Air California, Braniff International, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Pacific Southwest Airlines, US Airways, Western Airlines, and the Flying Tiger Line.

Starting in the mid-1990s under Mayors Richard Riordan and James Hahn, modernization and expansion plans for LAX were prepared, only to be stymied by a coalition of residents who live near the airport. They cited increased noise, pollution and traffic impacts of the project. In late 2005, newly elected Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was able to reach a compromise, allowing some modernization to go forward while encouraging future growth among other facilities in the region.

It is illegal to limit the number of passengers that can use an airport; however, in December 2005 the city agreed to limit their construction of passengers gates to 163. Once passenger usage hits 75 million, a maximum of two gates a year for up to five years will be closed, which theoretically will limit maximum growth to 79 million passengers a year. In exchange, civil lawsuits were abandoned, to allow the city to complete badly needed improvements to the airport.

On March 25, 2007 Runway 7R/25L reopened after being shifted 55 feet (17 m) south to prevent runway incursions and prepare the runway for the Airbus A380. Additional storm drains and enhanced runway lighting were added. Runway 25L is now 800 feet (240 m) south of the parallel runway centerline to centerline, allowing a parallel taxiway between the runways; the taxiway was completed in 2008.

On September 18, 2006 Los Angeles World Airports started a $503 million facelift of the Tom Bradley International Terminal. Improvements include installing new paging, air conditioning and electrical systems, along with new elevators, escalators, baggage carousels, and a digital sign that will automatically update flight information. Also a large explosives-detection machine will be incorporated into the terminal's underground baggage system, and the federal government will fund part of the system.

According to the Los Angeles Times, in February 2007, many Pacific Rim carriers began reducing flights to LAX in favor of more modern airports, such as San Francisco International Airport, due to the aging facilities at Tom Bradley International Terminal.

On August 15, 2007 the Los Angeles City Council approved a $1.2 billion project to construct a new 10-gate terminal to handle international flights using the A380. Adding the first new gates built since the early 1980s, the new structure is to be built directly west of the Tom Bradley International Terminal on a site that is occupied mostly by aircraft hangars, with passengers to be ferried to the building by a people mover extending from the terminal. It is expected to be completed in 2012.

On March 19, 2007 the Airbus A380 made its debut at LAX, landing on runway 24L. Though LAX was originally supposed to be the first US city to see the A380, Airbus later decided to forgo LAX in favor of New York's JFK. After city officials fought for the super-jumbo jet to land at LAX, the A380 landed simultaneously in New York's JFK airport and LAX.

On March 31, 2008 the Los Angeles Times reported that foreign carriers were once again flocking to LAX's Tom Bradley International Terminal. The weaker dollar caused a surge in demand for US travel, resulting in airlines either adding new destinations or increasing frequencies to existing routes. New airlines that introduced flights to LAX are Virgin Australia and Emirates Airlines. Emirates has operations to Dubai. In 2011, nonstop service to Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport was inaugurated by Turkish Airlines, providing the first nonstop service between Los Angeles and Turkey, while Iberia Airlines reinstated nonstop Los Angeles-Madrid flights as part of its inclusion in the Oneworld alliance. Meanwhile, Korean Airlines, Qantas, Air China, and Air France have all augmented their services to Los Angeles by adding new flights to existing routes. The influx of new flights comes amidst the renovation of the airport and consolidates LAX's status as the premiere international gateway to the Western United States.

Qantas launched service with the Airbus A380 on October 20, 2008, using the west side remote gates. Though initially deployed between LAX-SYD, Qantas' A380 service was extended to the popular LAX-Melbourne route. In July 2011, Singapore Airlines began service with the Airbus A380 on a Singapore-Tokyo-Los Angeles routing, followed shortly by Korean Airlines, which initiated nonstop Seoul-Los Angeles service with the Airbus A380 in October 2011. Air France has launched A380 flights between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Los Angeles in May 2012. In Addition, China Southern will launch A380 service to Guangzhou starting October 12, 2012 which is an increase of 78% capacity on the route.With the addition of these services, LAX boasts six daily flights on the Airbus A380.

Today, LAX is in the midst of a $4.11 billion dollar renovation and improvement program to expand and rehabilitate the Tom Bradley International Terminal to accommodate the next generation of larger aircraft, as well as handle the growing number of flights to and from the Southern California region, and to develop the Central Terminal Area (CTA) of the airport to include streamlined passenger processing, public transportation and updated central utility plants. The multi-year projects are expected to be completed by 2014 and is the largest public works project in Los Angeles history.

The airport is also a major hub for United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and a focus city for Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Air, Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin America and Volaris. It also serves as an international gateway for Delta Air Lines.