LAX terminal project 18 months ahead of schedule

© Shutterstock

Los Angeles city officials said the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Delta Sky Way transformation project is slated to be completed one and a half years ahead of schedule.

The $1.86 billion endeavor to modernize and upgrade Terminals 2 and 3 has reached completion of its initial phase. Decreased passenger volumes at the airport resulted in accelerated construction, allowing the Sky Way to open in mid-2023 instead of late 2024.

“LAX is a central pillar of our economic strength — part of the connective tissue bringing our city to the rest of the world — and we remain focused on enhancing its infrastructure, strengthening our workforce, and transforming the traveler experience,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “Even as we confront the immediate crisis of COVID-19, we are accelerating our work to devise a premier airport where visitors are greeted by reimagined terminals, workers land in good-paying jobs, and the city of the future truly takes off.”

The work scope includes a consolidated check-in lobby, security checkpoint, and a baggage claim facility as soon as the first quarter of 2022. Once fully completed, it will offer expanded security screening capacity, automated security lanes, gate-area seating, and Delta’s largest Delta Sky Club.

“If there’s a silver lining to fewer people flying right now, it’s that we have an opportunity and a team with the know-how to pull the future forward on infrastructure projects like Sky Way at LAX,” Mark Pearson, Delta vice president – Corporate Real Estate, said. “This is all possible thanks to the incredible support of LAWA (Los Angeles World Airports), the City of Los Angeles and our construction partners who are aligned with our vision, and our employees who continue to be nimble in supporting customers throughout each phase of construction.”