Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is the airport authority that owns and operates

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the ...

(LAX) and

Van Nuys Airport : ''For the United States Air Force use of the airport (1942–1990), see Van Nuys Air National Guard Base'' Van Nuys Airport is a public airport in the Van Nuys neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. The airport is operated by Los Angeles ...

(VNY) for the city of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. LAWA also owns and manages aviation-related property near the

Palmdale Regional Airport : ''See: United States Air Force Plant 42 for the United States Government use of the facility'' Palmdale Regional Airport is an airport in Palmdale, California, United States. The city of Palmdale took over the airport at the end of 2013, mana ...

(PMD). The authority's headquarters are on the grounds of LAX in the

neighborhood of Westchester.

History

LAWA was established in 1928 as the Los Angeles Department of Airports for the purpose of operating Los Angeles Municipal Airport, now known as Los Angeles International Airport or simply LAX. The Department of Airports changed its name to Los Angeles World Airports in 1997.

Current Airports

Los Angeles World Airports owns and operates two airports:

Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles opened its main airport on October 1, 1928. At the time of the opening, it was known as Mines Field and was little more than a dirt airstrip with no facilities. The first building, the historic Hangar No. 1, was erected in 1929. In 1930, the facility was renamed Los Angeles Municipal Airport, and mostly served general aviation. The facility was pressed into service as a military airfield during World War II. The airport started its conversion into a major passenger airport in 1946, and in 1949 became

(LAX). The current "U" shaped terminal area was added in 1961 and expanded several times. Today, LAX is the world's third busiest and the United States' second busiest airport following

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , also known as Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield, Hartsfield–Jackson and, formerly, as the Atlanta Municipal Airport, is the primary internatio ...

. As the largest and busiest international airport on the

U.S. West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

, LAX is a major international gateway to the United States and also serves as a connection point for passengers traveling internationally.

Van Nuys Airport

The Van Nuys Airport was originally built as the Metropolitan Airport and was used by Timm Aircraft Corporation. The airport was purchased by the military in 1942 and operated as the Van Nuys Army Air Field. In 1949, after the end of the war, the Los Angeles Department of Airports acquired the facility and renamed it San Fernando Valley Airport and later

(VNY). Today, Van Nuys is one of the busiest

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

airports in the world, averaging over 230,000 takeoffs and landings annually.

Former Airports

Ontario International Airport

In 1967, the city of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

in neighboring

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

asked the Los Angeles Department of Airports to enter into a Joint Powers Agreement for the operation and management of

Ontario International Airport Ontario International Airport is an international airport two miles east of downtown Ontario, in San Bernardino County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino. It is owned and operat ...

(ONT). The Los Angeles Department of Airports later acquired ONT from the city of Ontario in 1985, and expanded the airport's 485 acres of land to more than 1,700 acres and invested more than US$500 million in improvements. In April 2013, the city of Ontario filed a legal complaint against LAWA alleging mismanagement of the Ontario Airport, which resulted in a 40% decline of traffic between 2007 and 2013. LAWA countered the complaint, saying the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

was responsible for the decline in activity. After years of negotiations, LAWA sold its interest in ONT to the newly-formed

Ontario International Airport Authority The Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) is an airport authority that governs Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California. The OIAA was created in August 2012 under a joint-powers agreement between the City of Ontario, Califo ...

(OIAA) in December 2015 for a total of US$190 million. It transferred operational management of the airport to OIAA on November 1, 2016.

Palmdale Regional Airport

In 1969, the Los Angeles Department of Airports began searching for a location to build a secondary international airport to relieve congestion at LAX. The location that the department decided on was in the

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and ...

near the city of

Palmdale Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...

. From 1969 to 1983, LAWA acquired over 17,500 acres through voluntary acquisitions and eminent domain to develop an intercontinental airport. Development of "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport" never materialized due in part to lack of demand for commercial air services, environmental litigation, and opposition from the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

(USAF) whose

United States Air Force Plant 42 United States Air Force Plant 42 is a classified aircraft manufacturing plant owned by the United States Air Force in the Antelope Valley, about from downtown Los Angeles. It is also used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N ...

is located adjacent to LAWA-acquired land. The agency eventually entered into a lease agreement with the USAF to use Air Force Plant 42 runways and to build and operate a small terminal.

(PMD) began commercial operations in June 1971, but was not able to maintain steady demand with passenger traffic peaking in 1978 with 36,000 passengers before airline services eventually ceased in 1983. Two airlines began operating commercial services at PMD in 1990, but were again unable to maintain demand and ended services in 1998. In June 2007,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

began operating at PMD, but ceased operations in December 2008 citing lack of demand. At the end of 2013, LAWA transferred its lease with the USAF to the City of

Operations

Ground transportation

LAWA operates the FlyAway bus service, which runs two shuttle routes between LAX and the following:

Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

, and Los Angeles Union Station in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is a ...

. The agency is currently constructing the

LAX Automated People Mover The LAX Automated People Mover is an automated people mover (APM) system around the Los Angeles International Airport area, currently under construction for Los Angeles World Airports. To be operated by LAX Integrated Express Solutions, the LA ...

Law enforcement

LAWA maintains its own police department, the Los Angeles Airport Police sometimes referred to as "LAWAPD","LAXPD", or (APD). LAWAPD is the fourth largest law enforcement agency in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

, with more than 1,100 law enforcement, security and staff personnel. LAWAPD has patrolled jointly with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) since the opening of the current terminal area in 1961. On December 9, 2021, LAWA celebrated the opening of it's new-state-of-the-art Airport Police Facility (APF)headquarters. The new $216 million aviation police facility is the largest in the nation.

Revenue and expenditures

LAWA raises revenue by collecting aircraft landing fees, in addition to property leases and concession fees from airport tenants. LAWA still owns over 17,500 acres of land in the Antelope Valley that was acquired for the never-developed "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport" and generates revenue by leasing portions of it. Expenditures include runway and building maintenance fees, capital improvements and administration.

Governance

LAWA is a branch of the city of Los Angeles and is governed by a seven-member Board of Airport Commissioners. The Los Angeles City Charter requires one member to reside within the area surrounding LAX and another member to reside within the area surrounding the Van Nuys Airport. The board is appointed by the

Mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of the City of Los Angeles is the official head and chief executive officer of Los Angeles. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and is limited to serving no more than two terms. (Under the Constitution of California, all ...

and approved by

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro temp ...

. The Mayor also appoints the Executive Director who oversees over 4,000 employees and the day-to-day operations of the two airports. ;Board of Airport Commissioners As of August 2021, the Board of Airport Commissioners are as follows: * Beatrice C. Hsu, President * Valeria C. Velasco, Vice President * Sean O. Burton * Gabriel L. Eshaghian * Nicholas P. Roxborough * Cynthia A. Telles * Karim Webb ;List of Executive Directors Below is the list of LAWA Executive Directors from 1928 to the present: * Clifford W. Henderson (1928–1938) * Richard Barnitz (1938–1940) * Woodruff DeSilva (1940–1944) * Clarence Young (1944–1950) *

John W. Reeves Jr. John Walter Reeves Jr. (April 25, 1888 – July 16, 1967) was an admiral of the United States Navy who served as the Commander of the Alaskan Sector, Northwest Sea Frontier, during World War II. As such, he led the effort to dislodge Imperial Japa ...

(1950–1954) * Robert A. McMillan (1954–1959) * Francis T. Fox (1959–1968) * Clifton A. Moore (1968–1993) * John J. Driscoll (1993–1999) * Lydia H. Kennard (1999–2003 and 2005–2007) * Kim Day (2003-2005) * Gina Marie Lindsey (2007–2015) * Deborah A. Flint (2015–2020) * Justin Erbacci (2020–present)

Awards

* LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Award, after a $737 million renovation of LAX's Tom Bradley International Terminal in 2010 (final cost estimated to be $2 billion)

References

External links

* {{authority control Government of Los Angeles Airport operators of the United States Los Angeles International Airport Government agencies established in 1928 1928 establishments in California