Did you know that the Los Angeles Airport (LAX) is currently receiving extensive renovations? There’s a good reason for this. LAX is infamous for its long waiting times even during non-rush hours, with international passengers being expected to arrive at the Los Angeles Airport at least 3 hours before their flight!
As a result, passengers are advised to go the extra mile when preparing for their flight (such as using a professional car service when traveling from Carlsbad to LAX) in order to ensure everything goes as planned.
Read on to learn more about what you can expect when you go to LAX.
How busy is LAX?
Extremely busy. In 2019 alone, the Los Angeles International Airport handled more than 88 million passengers and nearly 700,000 aircraft operations. This makes it the third busiest airport in the world, the second busiest airport in the United States, and the record holder for the world’s busiest origin and destination airport.
Operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the Los Angeles Airport spans an area of 3500 acres. It features 9 passenger terminals and 4 east/west parallel runways, each of which is 150 feet wide.
Interesting facts about LAX include:
- The airport information kiosks enable passengers to view terminal maps, learn about traffic conditions, and even take selfies.
- The PUP (Pets Unstressing Passengers) program at LAX uses therapy dogs to help stressed or nervous passengers mentally prepare for their journey.
- The iconic airport pylons were painted yellow, blue, orange, red, green, violet, and indigo in 2018 to celebrate that year’s Los Angeles Pride parade.
- Temporary art exhibitions and installations are regularly held at the public spaces within the Los Angeles Airport. They’re especially popular with passengers who are laying over at LAX.
What are the busiest times at LAX?
The international terminals tend to be at their busiest between 11am and 3pm, and between 6pm and 11pm. Domestic terminals are a little different, with the periods between 5am and 8am, 11am and 2pm, and 5pm and 7pm being well-known rush hours for the airport. Since every terminal is its own building, there are no real workarounds for this problem.
If you’re looking for wi-fi, you can use it for 45 minute per session in all terminals. Improved connection or additional minutes need to be paid for.
What is the wait time at LAX?
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to give a universal answer to this question. How long it takes to get through the Los Angeles Airport will depend largely on how many flights have arrived at the same time, the number of passengers that landed, and the number of customs and immigration agents who are currently on duty.
As a general rule, getting through customs and immigration takes between 30 and 90 minutes. Although these wait times have improved somewhat during recent years thanks to the addition of modern automated screening lanes, you should still leave enough leeway in your schedule to account for a lengthy waiting period.
Where can I book a reliable car service that can take me from Carlsbad to LAX?
Getting to LAX on time is crucial if you want to beat its long waiting times and not miss your flight. By providing you with the very finest airport car services in Carlsbad, Stay Classy Transportation can ensure your trip to and from the Los Angeles Airport is as safe and as comfortable as possible.
Give us a call today if you’d like to learn more, or book a ride directly via our state-of-the-art online booking system.