Ground Broken On $1.6B Renovation Of American Airlines Terminals At LAX
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — City officials broke ground Wednesday on a $1.6 billion renovation of the American Airlines terminals at Los Angeles International Airport.
"We are re-imagining this entire airport, every single terminal from the ground up," Mayor Eric Garcetti said at the groundbreaking ceremony.
The upgrades projected over the next 15 years by American Airlines include unified passenger check-in and baggage claim areas, improvements to the check-in facilities in Terminal 5, centralization of the terminals' security screening checkpoint and connecting the terminals on both sides of the building.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, who announced the airline's planned 10-year, $1.6 billion investment in the renovation project last year, said the project would not only improve travelers' experience, but give airline employees "a better place to work every day."
The American Airlines renovation is the latest construction project to break ground at LAX -- the international terminal is in the middle of expanding and Delta Airlines is in the process of doing similar upgrades to Terminals 2 and 3 to the tune of $1.9 billion.
Eventually, all these improved terminals will be connected to the new people mover system arriving in 2023, which will hopefully ease congestion in LAX's famously clogged horseshoe and and get passengers to the Metro station with ease.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)