In the last 90 days, all four of the airports serving Los Angeles County have received grants – totaling roughly $66 million – from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program.
The federal grants – earmarked for Los Angeles International, Ontario International, Long Beach and Hollywood Burbank airports – will be used for airfield and terminal improvements.
Furthermore, two of those airports – LAX and Long Beach – are dipping into their own capital improvement program funds for a series of terminal area upgrades and branding initiatives in advance of the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
LAX: Airfield improvements and other upgrades
Los Angeles International Airport earlier this month received an FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant of $22.8 million. Most of the grant is for a project to extend an existing aircraft taxiway by a nearly 1,000 feet to bring the airport up to current standards. Some of the funds will also be used to acquire and install low- or zero-emission equipment, including 42 electric vehicle charging stations.
The city’s Board of Airport Commissioners also approved a program to refresh some of the airport terminals and launch an airport-wide branding campaign – all with an eye toward making an impression on the throngs of visitors expected for the 2028 summer Olympics.
“Our goal is to create an airport experience that doesn’t just connect people to destinations, but also reflects the creativity, variety and energy that makes Los Angeles unlike anywhere else in the world,” John Ackerman, chief executive of Los Angeles World Airports, said in the city agency’s Sept. 18 announcement.
The upgrades will include a refresh of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and an overhaul of the airport’s retail and dining concessions.
The money for these upgrades will come out of the airport’s $30 billion capital improvement program. No specific detail was provided on the cost amount.
Long Beach: New passenger amenities
Just a few miles down the 405 Freeway, Long Beach Airport officials unveiled in August a $37 million program to refresh and upgrade its passenger terminal experience. Roughly $24 million is coming from the FAA’s AIP program, with the rest coming from the airport’s ongoing revenues.
The program targets passenger concourses and all the airport’s 11 gates. Among the planned terminal improvements include the following: a remodel of gate areas and restrooms, new waiting-area seating with charging stations, new LED lighting and enhanced wayfinding signage. Outside, the plan calls for building two garden areas adjacent to the passenger concourses and additional outdoor shading.
“This funding not only upgrades our airport to make it more sustainable and efficient, but it will also create a safer, smoother experience for anyone flying through Long Beach Airport,” U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, said in an announcement in August of the federal funding.
The plan still needs Long Beach City Council approval, which is expected in October.
Ontario and Hollywood Burbank airports
Meanwhile, Ontario International Airport received $10.8 million in FAA AIP funds earlier this month, earmarked for two projects: reconstruction of a 5,500-foot aircraft taxiway and installation of low-emission equipment, including 24 ground power units.
The taxiway project comes on the heels of a $90 million runway project completed last year.
Hollywood Burbank Airport did not receive any funding in the latest round of FAA-AIP grants. However, the airport did receive a roughly $8 million grant earlier in the summer for construction of a terminal apron, which is the area where aircraft park, load and unload baggage, and refuel. The terminal apron is part of the $1.2 billion replacement terminal project under construction across the airfield from the existing terminals. That larger terminal project is set for completion late next year.
