FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2021

CONTACT:
LAX Public Relations
(424) 646-5260

(Los Angeles, CA) Last week, middle and high school students from local schools, as well as other states, completed Los Angeles International Airport's (LAX) Aviation Careers Education (ACE) Academy, which was held virtually. This year, more than 150 students participated in the program, breaking the previous year's record of 75 students.

"LAX ACE Academy gives students an incredible opportunity to learn about the wide variety of aviation careers directly from the people in those careers," said Justin Erbacci, Chief Executive Officer, LAWA. "We thank our partners for sharing their time and passion with students, and helping build the pipeline of our next generation of airport and aviation leaders.

ACE Academy, now in its 24th year, is a week-long motivational program designed to provide students with a basic understanding of career opportunities within the aviation, construction and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) industries, as well as general knowledge about LAX. The free program introduces students to a wide variety of careers in the aviation professionals.

This year's program was its most diverse yet, as many of the program's speakers came from historically underrepresented communities.

More than 40 presenters introduced students to careers in air cargo and commercial airlines; science and engineering companies; and those with local and federal government agencies including LAWA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration. This year's program featured a special focus on two additional career paths: Advanced Air Mobility and airport construction.

In addition to students and speakers participating from Los Angeles and cities surrounding LAX and the Antelope Valley, the virtual format allowed students from across California to join, as well from as six other states: Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina and Texas. One participant joined from Japan, and one speaker presented from Hong Kong. The number of participants doubled from last year's program which had also broken all previous participation records.

Among the local schools represented in the program this year were El Segundo Middle School; El Segundo High School; WISH High School; Da Vinci High Schools; Lennox Mathematics, Science & Technology Academy; Palms Middle School; Culver City High School; Venice High School; Mira Costa High School and Girls Academic Leadership Academy.

Students registering for this year's program included 36.7 percent who identify as female, 35.1 percent who identify as Hispanic or Latino, 35.1 percent who identify as Black or African American, and 14.2% who identify as Asian or Asian American. More than 44 percent of registrants indicated interest in pursuing STEM careers, and more than 70 percent indicated plans to pursue college or university degrees.

ACE Academy is facilitated by LAX Community Relations, which works to establish programs and services that address the needs and concerns of surrounding airport communities through strong partnerships with civic groups and community stakeholders. Initiatives include promoting youth programs, aviation education, volunteerism, civic participation and more. To learn more about these programs, visit www.lawa.org/laxcr.

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 $14.5-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 Bradley West Gates 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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