MANDATED IMPROVEMENTS TO BEGIN ON FINAL RUNWAY AT LAX; THREE OF FOUR RUNWAYS NOW COMPLETED
(Los Angeles, California – October 17, 2016) Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) announced today that it has now completed mandatory improvements to its third runway, 6R/24L, which reopened to full length this morning. Improvements on the fourth and final runway, 7L/25R are scheduled to begin October 22.
The U.S. Congress mandated all the nation’s airports to undertake Runway Safety Area (RSA) improvements that will provide an extra margin of safety for landing and departing aircraft. RSA improvements at LAX began in March 2015, and have been phased in order to limit impacts to operations. The RSA work also provides an opportunity for LAX to perform other airfield improvements and runway maintenance.
Airport officials consulted with airline partners, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and neighboring communities in order to minimize impacts to surrounding communities and air travelers.
The final RSA improvements on Runway 7L/25R will be phased in over a seven-month period, and will involve a shortening of Runway 7L/25R that will allow it to remain operational for approximately three months, while the runway’s east end and adjoining taxiways are reconstructed. In January 2017 after the busy holiday travel season, Runway 7L/25R is scheduled to be fully closed to complete the remaining RSA improvements on the west end of the runway along with other maintenance and rehabilitation work. The improvements are expected to be completed by June 2017.
Passengers may experience flight delays similar to those that occur during bad weather. Communities around LAX may also periodically experience increased noise as air traffic patterns shift while the work is being performed.
About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
LAX is the seventh busiest airport in the world and third in the United States. LAX served more than 74.9 million passengers in 2015. LAX offers 742 daily nonstop flights to 101 cities in the U.S. and 1,273 weekly nonstop flights to 76 cities in 41 countries on 64 commercial air carriers. LAX ranks 12th in the world and fifth in the U.S. in air cargo tonnage processed, with more than 2.1 million tons of air cargo valued at over $101.4 billion. LAX handled 655,564 operations (landings and takeoffs) in 2015.
An economic study based on 2014 operations reported LAX generated 620,610 jobs in Southern California with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX’s ongoing capital-improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion, $966 million in state and local taxes, and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.
LAX is part of a system of three Southern California airports – along with LA/Ontario International and Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports, a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City’s general fund.
As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities. Alternative formats in large print, braille, audio, and other forms (if possible) will be provided upon request.
