LAX Passenger Traffic Increases 7.5%

Nearly 58 million passengers passed through Los Angeles International Airport in 1996, making it the third-busiest airport for passengers in the country.

That is a 7.5% increase over 1995, when 54 million passengers used LAX, but down slightly from past years when passenger growth has been as high as 9%. Cargo business was up 7.7% with 1.9 million tons of cargo flown in and out of the facility, compared with 1.76 million tons in 1995.

Most of the increase in passenger and cargo activity is due to increased business with Pacific Rim countries, said Jack Driscoll, executive director of the Los Angeles Department of Airports.

“LAX has consistently seen an 8% to 9% increase in aviation activity in recent years, and forecasts show this demand will continue for the next 20 years,” Driscoll said in a prepared statement.

LAX is undertaking a major expansion project that will carry it into the next century, aimed at accommodating roughly 98 million passengers and 4 million tons of cargo by the year 2015.

Meanwhile, passenger service at Ontario International Airport, where two new terminals are being built, was down 2.5% with 6.24 million passengers using the facility last year.