Los Angeles International Airport

LAX KLAX Los Angeles, United States

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LAX at a glance

What it is: Los Angeles International Airport is one of the world's busiest airports serving Los Angeles, United States.
Codes: LAX on your ticket, KLAX on the radar.
How busy: the reference profile lists about 75.1 million annual passengers across 4 runways.
Main airline: Delta Air Lines bases aircraft here, along with 3 other carriers.
Right now: 83 aircraft are within 55 km, shown live on the map above.
Local time zone: America/Los_Angeles (UTC-7), so every time shown for LAX is local rather than UTC.

Aircraft observed near LAX

83 aircraft are within 55 km of LAX right now. This is live ADS-B traffic, not a published timetable: aircraft are classified by what they are physically doing - Climbing out, on approach, or holding at cruise overhead. For gate numbers and scheduled times, check with LAX directly or your airline.

Departing now

Flight	Operator	Route	Status	Altitude	Speed
TAI523	—	route not published	on stand or taxiing	—	12 kts
ASA585	Alaska Airlines	route not published	climbing out	1,300 ft	173 kts
AAL238	American Airlines	route not published	climbing out	1,875 ft	258 kts
N970CF	—	route not published	on stand or taxiing	—	—
XE1170	—	route not published	on stand or taxiing	—	—
N119RP	—	route not published	climbing out	2,725 ft	110 kts
POE662	—	route not published	climbing out	3,975 ft	257 kts
N130JM	—	route not published	climbing out	400 ft	69 kts

Arriving now

Flight	Operator	Route	Status	Altitude	Speed
SKW3349	—	route not published	on approach	300 ft	123 kts
SKW5012	—	route not published	on approach	250 ft	117 kts
BOX474	—	route not published	on approach	225 ft	147 kts
N727HG	—	route not published	on approach	2,150 ft	144 kts
N169TW	—	route not published	on approach	325 ft	57 kts
UAL3936	United Airlines	route not published	on approach	1,400 ft	130 kts
QFA11	Qantas	route not published	on approach	5,850 ft	236 kts
DAL946	Delta Air Lines	route not published	on approach	2,775 ft	194 kts

Overhead and in the area

Flight	Operator	Route	Status	Altitude	Speed
N904DR	—	route not published	in the area	6,250 ft	106 kts
N732ZY	—	route not published	in the area	200 ft	40 kts
N65V	—	route not published	in the area	5,600 ft	160 kts
N821FR	—	route not published	in the area	525 ft	52 kts
N81BV	—	route not published	in the area	1,100 ft	79 kts
N221LA	—	route not published	in the area	600 ft	82 kts
N379TA	—	route not published	in the area	1,400 ft	97 kts
N737PT	—	route not published	in the area	1,000 ft	83 kts

75.1M

Annual passengers (reference)

Runways

Terminals

128 ft

Field elevation

About LAX

The principal gateway between the United States and the Asia-Pacific region, and a rare airport that is a hub for four major US carriers. The iconic Theme Building and the LAX letters are landmarks of Los Angeles. A multi-billion-dollar modernisation, including an automated people mover, is underway ahead of the 2028 Olympics.

Los Angeles International began as Mines Field, a bean-field airstrip selected by the city in 1928. Hosted the National Air Races before scheduled airlines arrived. Commercial service only moved from Burbank and Glendale after World War II, in 1946. The airport took the name Los Angeles International shortly afterward. The jet age gave LAX its enduring symbol: the spider-legged Theme Building of 1961, a masterpiece of Space Age 'Googie' architecture that looks like a landed flying saucer at the heart of the terminal loop.

The horseshoe-shaped central terminal area took form in the early 1960s. The Tom Bradley International Terminal opened for the 1984 Olympics, later rebuilt into one of the finest international facilities in the country.

LAX became the rare airport where five major US carriers, American, Delta, United, Alaska and Southwest, all maintain hubs or large bases. A multibillion-dollar modernization ahead of the 2028 Olympics is adding the long-awaited Automated People Mover and a Metro rail connection, addressing the airport's legendary road congestion while its aging terminals are rebuilt almost end to end in the largest public works program in Los Angeles history.

How LAX operates today

LAX operates four parallel east-west runways, two on each side of the central terminal horseshoe, allowing segregated arrival and departure streams that make it one of the world's most efficient four-runway layouts. Nine terminals ring the loop, with the Tom Bradley International Terminal hosting most foreign flag carriers.

Uniquely, American, Delta, United, Alaska and Southwest all operate major hubs or bases here, competing on top of the world's richest origin-and-destination market. At night, noise procedures send both takeoffs and landings out over the Pacific. LAX is also a premier transpacific cargo gateway.

Top routes from LAX

Destination	Main airlines	Why it matters
New York (JFK)	American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue	The premium transcontinental showcase route for every carrier's best product.
San Francisco (SFO)	United, Delta, Alaska Airlines	A California shuttle that is among the most flown corridors in the country.
Las Vegas (LAS)	Southwest, Spirit, Delta	A short, relentless leisure pipeline to the casinos.
London (LHR)	British Airways, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic	The flagship Europe route, heavy with premium entertainment-industry traffic.
Sydney (SYD)	Qantas, United, Delta	The historic transpacific trunk route linking the US with Australia.

Facts about LAX

The X in LAX means nothing: when airport codes grew from two letters to three, 'LA' simply gained an X.
The 1961 Theme Building, a landmark of Space Age 'Googie' architecture, was designed to resemble a flying saucer on legs.
Late at night, both takeoffs and landings are directed out over the Pacific Ocean to reduce noise over neighborhoods.
LAX is regularly ranked the world's busiest origin-and-destination airport, with more travelers starting or ending trips there than anywhere else.

Plane spotting at LAX

The In-N-Out Burger on Sextant Avenue sits directly under the 24R approach and is arguably the most famous spotting location in America, while Clutter's Park in El Segundo overlooks the entire south complex. New to spotting? Start with our aircraft identification guide and the world's best spotting airports.

IATA / ICAO

LAX / KLAX

Location

Los Angeles, United States 33.942, -118.409

Time zone

America/Los_Angeles

Opened

1930

Hub for

Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines

Website

www.flylax.com

Airlines hubbed at LAX

DL · DAL Delta Air Lines United States AA · AAL American Airlines United States UA · UAL United Airlines United States AS · ASA Alaska Airlines United States

Tracked flights using LAX

Selected scheduled services whose curated route starts, ends or stops at Los Angeles International Airport.

Flight	Route	Typical aircraft
DL41	LAX → SYD	Airbus A350-900	Track DL41 →
AA1	JFK → LAX	Airbus A321T	Track AA1 →
AS11	JFK → LAX	Boeing 737-900ER	Track AS11 →
B6615	JFK → LAX	Airbus A321	Track B6615 →
AV398	SAL → LAX	Airbus A320	Track AV398 →
CM472	PTY → LAX	Boeing 737 MAX 9	Track CM472 →
EK215	DXB → LAX	Airbus A380-800	Track EK215 →
CX880	HKG → LAX	Boeing 777-300ER	Track CX880 →

Nearby and related airports

Geographically close airports and useful alternatives in United States.

More airports and guides connected to LAX

Most of the tails you see here belong to Delta Air Lines. It ranks among the world's busiest fields, which we compare in the busiest airports ranked. Nearby, Las Vegas (LAS) serves the same country. The codes LAX and KLAX are explained in airport codes decoded.

Data sources and review

Reviewed 2026-07-29 by Flight-Tracker.net Editorial Team

LAX official airport website - operational information and current airport details.
OurAirports public data - airport identity, codes, coordinates and runway reference data.

Passenger, runway, terminal and hub figures are maintained as a reviewed reference snapshot, not a live operational record. Check the airport directly before travelling.

Read our airport data sourcing and review process, or inspect the machine-readable reference dataset.

Frequently asked questions about LAX

What is the airport code for Los Angeles International Airport?

Los Angeles International Airport uses the IATA code LAX on tickets and baggage tags, and the ICAO code KLAX in flight plans and on radar. The leading “K” in KLAX is the region marker: ICAO codes are grouped geographically, which is why airports near each other usually share their first letter or two while their IATA codes look unrelated.

How many runways does LAX have?

Los Angeles International Airport operates 4 runways across 9 passenger terminals. The field sits at 128 ft above sea level.

How busy is LAX?

This reference profile lists roughly 75.1 million annual passengers for Los Angeles International Airport. You can see aircraft observed departing, arriving and overhead on this page, taken from live ADS-B broadcasts.

Which airlines are based at LAX?

Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines treat LAX as a hub or major base. Many other carriers serve the airport without basing aircraft there.

How many terminals does LAX have?

This reference lists Los Angeles International Airport with 9 passenger terminals. Check the airport or operating airline for the terminal assigned to a specific flight.

What time zone is LAX in?

Los Angeles International Airport runs on America/Los_Angeles, currently UTC-7. Flight trackers work in UTC internally, so the seven-day history on our flight pages is stamped UTC while the boards on this page are in LAX local time - worth remembering when the two disagree by a whole calendar day.

Can I track flights at LAX live?

Yes. The map on this page shows every aircraft broadcasting its position within about 55 km of Los Angeles International Airport, and there are 83 in range as this page loaded. The boards split them into departures, arrivals and traffic passing overhead, all timed in America/Los_Angeles.