LAX Public Relations
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Santa Claus reads "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" to more than 2,100 children

in a virtual presentation of LAX's Santa Fly-In event.

(Los Angeles, CA) Today, more than 2,100 local students from 22 local and greater Los Angeles-area schools shared in holiday cheer as Santa Claus made a virtual appearance as part of Los Angeles International Airport's (LAX) annual Santa Fly-In event. Students in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten and first-grade classes enjoyed a virtual program that included educational entertainment, safety activities and a reading from Saint Nicholas himself. Attendance for the event was the highest in the program's history.

"Our LAX Santa Fly-In has become a hugely popular annual event that brings the wonder of aviation to local children and promotes holiday cheer within the community we serve," said Justin Erbacci, Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles World Airports. "As perhaps the most famous pilot in the world, we are always happy to welcome Santa Claus to Los Angeles."

The event began with Santa making a special call to LAX Air Traffic Control to let students know that he would be arriving soon. As they waited for his approach, students heard from the Hawthorne Police Department and Gabby, its talking patrol car. Next, students met volunteers and therapy dogs from LAX's Pets Unstressing Passengers program and enjoyed a special aviation-themed presentation from Los Angeles-based performance artist and musician Kiddle Karoo and her puppets, which included an aviator and wizard. Students also learned practical safety tips from the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Finally, Santa surprised students by descending onto the airfield near the Flight Path Museum & Learning Center before reading "''Twas the Night Before Christmas," and concluded his visit by wishing every child a happy holiday before making his return to the North Pole.

This is the second year that the Santa Fly-In program was presented virtually. Students participated from schools in El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lennox, Inglewood, Playa Vista, Torrance, Lawndale and the greater Los Angeles area.

This annual event is part of LAX's continued efforts to engage with surrounding communities. Teachers and parents can watch a recording of the virtual Santa Fly-In with their students and children here.

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 the West Gates at 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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