(Los Angeles, CA) Yesterday, more than 500 Los Angeles-area high school students were introduced to aviation industry careers at the third annual LAX Aviation Career Day, hosted by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). The event took place at the Flight Path Museum & Learning Center, and raised awareness of careers in the air and space industry as well as specialized curriculums at local colleges. More than 30 companies, federal agencies and other airport employers were present to share information and discuss career paths with the students.

“LAX’s Aviation Career Day is an opportunity for high school students to see firsthand the breadth of professional opportunities available at an airport,” said Michelle Schwartz, Deputy Executive Director, Chief of External Affairs, LAWA. “With more than 50,000 employees working at LAX, we want these students to know that the sky’s the limit when it comes to chasing their dream job, and at the airport we have opportunities in almost any career path.”

This year's Aviation Career Day included United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Los Angeles Airport Police, the California Highway Patrol, as well as schools and companies specializing in aviation/aerospace and aircraft maintenance. Construction and design firms working at LAX, including PCL Construction Services and Swinerton Builders, were also present to highlight opportunities.

Students came from across the Los Angeles region, and as far away as Harbor City. Local, LAX-area schools included Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnet High School (HS), Wish Academy HS and Saint Bernard HS. Others included Culver City HS; STEAM Legacy HS; Abraham Lincoln HS; Boyle Heights STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) HS; Carson HS; Kennedy HS; Narbonne HS; Santee Education Complex HS; School of Business & Tourism at Miguel Contreras Learning Complex; Sherman Oaks HS; South East HS; STEM Academy of Hollywood; and West Adams HS.

About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
LAX, the fifth busiest airport in the world and second in the United States, was named in Skytrax’ 2018 top 10 U.S. airports. LAX served more than 84.56 million passengers in 2017 and offers 737 daily nonstop flights to 100 cities in the U.S. and 1,386 weekly nonstop flights to 88 cities in 44 countries on 73 commercial air carriers.  LAX ranks 13th in the world and fourth in the U.S. in air cargo tonnage processed, with more than 2.2 million tons of air cargo valued at over $101.4 billion.  LAX handled 700,362 operations (landings and takeoffs) in 2017.

An economic study based on 2014 operations reported LAX generated 620,600 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 also the second most popular airport in the world to appear on Instagram according to wego.com. LAX is part of a system of two Southern California airports – along with 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.

For more information about LAX, please visit www.flyLAX.com or follow on Twitter @flyLAXAirport, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LAInternationalAirport, and on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/laxairport1.

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.