LAX drops down the list of the world's busiest airports by passenger count
Los Angeles International Airport fell from a global ranking of the world's busiest airports following a drop in domestic travel and ongoing struggles to rebound from the pandemic.
The Airports Council International — an organization of airport authorities whose rankings are widely accepted — released its preliminary numbers on Monday ahead of its annual July report. Notably absent from its Top 10 list of busiest airports by passenger count was LAX.
The airport was the third-busiest in the world in 2019 by that ranking, but it fell off ACI's list and landed at No. 15 a year later as the COVID-19 pandemic halted air travel. The congested hub bounced back to No. 5 in 2021 and was No. 8 on the 2023 ranking before its recent drop, according to last year's numbers. Los Angeles World Airports confirmed it was aware of the drop.
LAX is still considered one of the busiest airports in the world when ranked by takeoffs and landings, but it fell from No. 6 to No. 7, according to ACI. The airport also fell from the top rankings of airports that handle cargo.
'We're among the worst recovered airports in the country for passenger traffic, and now we're seeing that performance actually worsen. We have been slowly recovering, and we've seen that trend reverse,' LAWA Chief Executive Officer John Ackerman said Thursday during a Board of Commissioners meeting. 'We've actually seen some slippage and shrinkage in the last couple of months.'
Ackerman cited 'consumer confidence, immigration and trade policy, monetary policy' as some of the reasons for the drop in traffic.
Read more: In a city known for traffic, LAX is a standout for its gridlock. Can it be fixed?
The airport had seen some growth in passengers since 2020's significant decline, but officials have sounded the alarm as traveler counts have continued to dip below forecasts. Last year, the airport saw more than 76.5 million passengers — a little more than a 2% increase from 2023. But its domestic count dropped from roughly 52.8 million passengers flying within the United States in 2023 to about 52.6 million last year, according to LAWA data.
In February, the total passenger count at LAX of those flying in the U.S. and internationally was roughly 4.9 million travelers — a 7% decrease from last February.
Not every airport has faced the same obstacles in recovering from pandemic losses. By comparison, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport's passenger count grew by more than 3% to more than 108 million passengers in 2024, according to ACI, and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport's count increased by more than 7% to more than 87 million passengers. Both airports have held steady at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots on ACI's ranking.
Some regional airports have also seen an uptick in passenger counts. Long Beach Airport, for instance, hit record passenger numbers last year, and in 2023, Hollywood Burbank Airport surpassed its record-setting numbers from 2019.
Ackerman acknowledged that if passengers aren't going to LAX, they must be going elsewhere, but he told The Times that the increase in passengers at other nearby airports doesn't fully account for LAX's losses. And he reiterated that a variety of factors has played into the struggle.
In 2019, LAX saw more than 88 million passengers. Airport officials had previously planned for 110 million passengers in 2028, but they have dropped their estimate to roughly 90 million, leaders have said in past board meetings. That change prompted airport officials last year to shift some projects away from terminal expansion to infrastructure updates, such as plumbing fixes.
LAWA is revising its current and future fiscal budgets, which Chief Financial Officer Tatiana Starostina said will be affected by the recent drop in domestic travelers.
Read more: L.A. waited so long it seemed like a fantasy. But it's actually coming: A rail connection to LAX
'We know that the situation is very fluid,' Starostina said at the board meeting Thursday. 'As we're revising the numbers down, it is not a surprise that we obviously continue to expect that we will not be fully recovered. You see that compared to 2019, the overall number for 2026 will be about 15% below the pre-pandemic level.'
The airport is undergoing a $30-billion overhaul, with multiple projects slated for completion ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics. Among the most anticipated is the automated people mover train, which officials and transit experts believe will significantly improve traffic by offering an alternative route in and out of the 1 World Way horseshoe loop and a direct connection to Metro.
Airport officials expect the elevated train to open in early 2026.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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