A $30-billion overhaul promises to make the experience better before the 2028 Olympics and the airport’s centennial. A glimpse of the elevated tracks of the long-awaited Automated People Mover soaring above the airport teases at the future. But until the system is complete, the chaos that many have endured before takeoff and after landing remains all but inevitable without extensive trip planning, extra time to allow for delays or travel at non-peak hours — especially for first-timers trying to navigate the airport.
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While other major airports, such as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, are hubs for connections, LAX is used mainly for nonstop flights. That has led to ground transportation traffic that has only increased as flight travel has expanded and L.A. County’s population has grown from 4 million in 1950 — a year after the airport became an international destination — to 10 million today. Roughly 700 nonstop flights arrive and depart each day, and about 70 airlines fly in and out. The airport saw more that 75 million travelers last year — a number that hasn’t surpassed the pre-pandemic peak in 2019 but has increased from roughly 67 million in 2000 and 35 million in 1979.
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Without a direct public transit connection, such as exists at most airports throughout the country, the bottleneck will get worse with more passengers. And while the horseshoe loop design isn’t uncommon (it’s also seen at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport), LAX is limited to one entrance and one exit that dumps onto busy Century and Sepulveda boulevards before drivers make their way to the freeway.
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The People Mover could eliminate some of the traffic in the horseshoe by taking passengers to and from airport terminals, the Metro C Line, long-term and short-term parking and a consolidated rental car facility. The $2.2-billion rental car project under construction will house more than 18,000 vehicles in a 6.3-million-square-foot space near the 405. Owner Los Angeles World Airports has allocated $2.9 billion for the 2.25-mile People Mover line, which is expected to open in late 2025.