Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced the acceleration of the Delta Sky Way transformation project at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) – a $1.86 billion project to modernize and upgrade Terminals 2 and 3.
"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," said Mayor Garcetti. "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 announcement came during a ceremony to celebrate the completion of phase one of the project. Lower passenger volumes at LAX have allowed for accelerated construction, which will allow the Sky Way to open a year-and-a-half early — in mid-2023 instead of late 2024.
"By working in close partnership and cooperation with Delta Air Lines, Los Angeles World Airports is leveraging opportunities to create efficiencies and deliver the project ahead of schedule by more than a year," said Sean Burton, Board of Airport Commissioners President. "We are grateful to Delta and all our partners who are helping us build world class facilities worthy of our great city."
The renovations will include a consolidated check-in lobby, security checkpoint, and baggage claim facility as soon as the first quarter of 2022. When fully complete, the state-of-the-art facility will offer expanded security screening capacity, automated security lanes, gate-area seating, and Delta's largest Delta Sky Club. The terminal will also provide connectivity after security between Terminals 2 and 3, which is currently only accessible on foot or via a shuttle bus. By 2023, the improvements will provide better access to the LAX Automated People Mover.
"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, which will deliver an exceptional experience much faster than planned for our customers and employees," said Mark Pearson, Delta Vice President – Corporate Real Estate. "This is all possible thanks to the incredible support of LAWA, 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."
"As we reimagine Los Angeles International Airport, the modernization of Terminals 2 and 3 is an example of how we are realizing our goal to be one of the top international airports in the world by creating new facilities and passenger experiences that are modern, streamlined and built on a framework of advanced technology," said Justin Erbacci, Chief Executive Officer, LAWA. "The new headhouse will be a new front door for Delta Air Lines guests, create a key linking point for the north terminals and provide easy access to the Automated People Mover train when it begins operations in 2023."
Since taking office, Mayor Garcetti has guided forward a more than $14 billion transformation of LAX that began in 2009. The Mayor's historic infrastructure investments have strengthened working families and the middle class. The Delta Sky Way project is estimated to create roughly 14,000 jobs in the L.A. region, and it will help generate over $2 billion in economic output when completed.
