LAX’s feel-good marketing aims to counter bad traffic problems

How bad is traffic at Los Angeles International Airport? Bad enough that the airport has launched a new slogan and website: LAXIsHappening.com.

The campaign is meant to “inspire and inform” travelers about how to navigate construction outside and inside LAX terminals during the multibillion-dollar face-lift expected to last through 2019.

The one-stop website allows travelers to tap into information from home or on mobile devices with a real-time traffic map of the airport as well as a list of lane closures on upper and lower levels.

There also are little videos that show shortcuts on how to get to the airport -- primarily aimed at keeping you off the 405 Freeway -- by using workarounds with such names as “The Shuffle,” “The Side Door,” “The Slip,” and “The Split.”

Some of the LAX traffic tips:

--The busiest times for departure areas are 4-11 a.m. (especially Terminals 1 and 5, and especially on Mondays) and 7:30 p.m.-1 a.m., especially on Fridays.

--The busiest time for arrival areas is 5:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m., especially on Sunday nights.

--During these peak times, drop passengers off at the arrivals level instead of departures (and vice versa) to avoid the crunch.

--Use the Cell Phone Waiting Lot off West 96th Street next to Parking Lot C. You can either swoop in to pick up passengers or they can take the free airport shuttle to meet you there.

But the campaign isn’t just aimed at drivers and traffic. It strives to keep passengers moving and finding things such as restrooms and restaurants while terminals are undergoing construction with blocked-off walls and narrow hallways.

LAX is in the middle of a $7-billion-plus renovation that includes a redone Tom Bradley International Terminal and renovation of all domestic terminals.