LOS ANGELES | LAX Modernization Plan

[craigs]

Originally Posted by Xing

LA just handles it differently. 1 major airport and a handful of smaller medium sized airports. Chicago has 1 major airport, and a 2nd large airport. It could have easily had 2 or 3 smaller airports instead, but it chose a different route.

When I lived in the area I flew out of Burbank, LAX, and Ontario, I never had the opportunity to visit John Wayne or Long Beach. Is Long Beach’s airport even that big, I could never tell.

LGB is a small airport, in my opinion. People board planes by walking onto the tarmac and climbing the stairs.

[edale]

Originally Posted by craigs

LGB is a small airport, in my opinion. People board planes by walking onto the tarmac and climbing the stairs.

That's how passengers board and deplane in Burbank. I just looked up the stats for Burbank and Long Beach airports and here's how they compare:

Burbank

• total passengers: 6,550,281
• 33 destinations

Long Beach

• total passengers: 4,148,080
• 22 total destinations

[craigs]

Originally Posted by edale

That's how passengers board and deplane in Burbank. I just looked up the stats for Burbank and Long Beach airports and here's how they compare:

Burbank

• total passengers: 6,550,281
• 33 destinations

Long Beach

• total passengers: 4,148,080
• 22 total destinations

Burbank is also a small airport.

[edale]

Originally Posted by craigs

Burbank is also a small airport.

I wasn’t arguing otherwise. Of LA’s secondary airports, Burbank and Long Beach are small, John Wayne and Ontario are a bit bigger.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by edale

I wasn’t arguing otherwise. Of LA’s secondary airports, Burbank and Long Beach are small, John Wayne and Ontario are a bit bigger.

John Wayne is a mid-sized airport. Ontario is small, as it has the same number of enplanements as Burbank, according to this Wikipedia article. You didn't share your source for passenger count so I don't know how they compare on that metric.

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by craigs

John Wayne is a mid-sized airport. Ontario is small, as it has the same number of enplanements as Burbank, according to this Wikipedia article. You didn't share your source for passenger count so I don't know how they compare on that metric.

Ontario has been on of the nation’s fastest growing airports for the past decade. Also, Palm Springs has about three million annual enplanements.

[homebucket]

LAX has fallen in global airport rankings. Will a pre-Olympics transformation help?
By Colleen Shalby
Staff Writer
Sept. 25, 2025 3 AM PT

...

The most anticipated project is the Automated People Mover — a 2.25-mile elevated train that promises to whisk travelers between airport terminals and a new parking lot, rideshare lot and the newly opened LAX/Metro Transit Center, finally offering a direct connection between the airport and rail, while improving vehicle traffic on its infamous horseshoe.

The train has faced setbacks. Originally slated to open in 2023, clashes between the airport and contractor LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS) over timeline, compensation and production led to significant delays. Last year, LAWA officials said the train was expected to open in January 2026. Then the goalposts moved to “early 2026.” Now Ackerman said that the hope is for it to open by the 2026 World Cup in June, but officials are working on contingency plans that would rely on shuttles if there’s further delay.

“The company knows they owe us the train — we paid for the train, we expect to get the train. But we do not need the train to operate the World Cup,” Ackerman said. “We will have a plan to be ready for the World Cup and welcome those fans with the excellence that they deserve, irrespective of the train.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...formation-help