Online video tour provides dynamic views of the LAX airfield,

also available in virtual reality

The LAX Virtual Airfield Tour can be viewed on a computer, smartphone, tablet or virtual reality headset for an immersive experience.

(Los Angeles, CA) In a first-of-its-kind virtual reality (VR) experience, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) today launched a virtual 360-degree tour of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) airfield.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, LAX offered a popular airfield tour for students, community groups and others to educate the public about operations at the country's second-busiest airport. Now, that same tour is available to all through an immersive, high-resolution 360-degree video experience that can be accessed online using a smartphone, tablet, computer or VR headset.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired us to find new ways to stay connected with our community, and this first-of-its-kind virtual airfield tour provides a front row seat for aviation enthusiasts from around the world," said Michelle Schwartz, Chief Corporate Strategy and Affairs Officer, LAWA. "Using cutting-edge technology, we can educate and inspire anyone who wants to learn more about LAX's people, operations and history."

The virtual airfield tour takes viewers on a journey around LAX's airfield, offering unique, one-of-a-kind views that were previously only available to in-person tour attendees and airport employees.

Starting from the Flight Path Museum and Learning Center, the tour traverses notable destinations around LAX's campus while a series of narrators explain LAX's operations and history. The tour features historical photos and engaging graphics. Destinations seen on the virtual tour include the Qantas maintenance hangar, rarely seen exterior views of the new Midfield Satellite Concourse and the historic Hangar 1, which was built in 1929 and is the first and oldest building on the LAX campus.

The LAX virtual airfield tour is shareable, informational, educational and free to use, offering insights into the wide variety of work that comprises a major airport's daily operations. The tour's runtime is over 37 minutes and is available in a variety of resolutions up to 4K Ultra HD.

The virtual airfield tour is accessible from YouTube here. Desktop viewers can change their view by manually dragging the screen in different directions with their mouse, or by using controls provided within the video window. Viewers using a mobile device should view the tour through their device's YouTube app (not through a mobile web browser), which will allow them to move their device to match their view in 360 degrees.

For the most immersive experience possible, viewers should use a suitable YouTube-compatible VR headset. VR headsets that use a smart phone as their display also work well. 

The tour premiered to more than 500 high school students as part of LAWA's first all-virtual LAX Aviation Career Day.

About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

LAX, the third-busiest airport in the world and second busiest in the United States in 2019, is in the midst of a $14.3-billion capital improvement program that will touch on all nine passenger terminals and build new facilities, including an Automated People Mover (APM) train, Consolidated Rent-A-Car (ConRAC) facility and a 12- to 15-gate Midfield Satellite Concourse (MSC) addition to the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

In 2019, LAX served nearly 88.1 million passengers and offered an average of 700 daily nonstop flights to 113 destinations in the U.S. and 1,200 weekly nonstop flights to 91 markets in 46 countries on 72 commercial airlines.

LAX generates 620,600 jobs in Southern California, with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion, according to an economic study based on 2014 operations. 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 two Southern California airports – along with Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City's general fund.

LAWA is leading the aviation industry in sustainability practices, with initiatives related to water management, energy (electricity) management, air quality, recycling and natural resources management. In 2019, LAX received Level III ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation from Airport Councils International-Europe.

LAWA is also a leader in inclusivity, operating eight programs that provide opportunities for business enterprises including local, small, minority-owned, veteran-owned and disadvantaged firms, and working together with community partners to offer the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program, which targets local workers to make them ready for rewarding careers in the construction trades, and the Build LAX Academy, designed to prepare small contracting businesses for success when working on projects at LAX.

LAX was named a top-10 U.S. airport by SKYTRAX in 2018, and was honored as the "Most Innovative Airport for Passenger Experience" in 2019 by the American Association of Airport Executives. LAX is the second-most popular airport in the world to appear on Instagram, according to wego.com. Other recent honors have included selection as the No. 9 Best Airport (Wall Street Journal); No. 7 Best On-Time Performance for a Mega-Hub Airport (OAG); one of "The World's Best Airports for Business Travelers" (GlobeHunters); Public-Private Partnership of the Year (P3 Bulletin); Urth Caffe, Best Airport Coffee Concession of the Year (Global FAB Awards); Innovation of the Year, Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ARTBA); Best Project, United Airlines Terminal 7 and 8 Redevelopment Program (Engineering News Record California); North American Public-Private Partnership Deal of the Year (IJ Global); and Innovative Transportation Solution of the Year, Automated People Mover (WTS LA).

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.

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