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: 119 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

119 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

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
AAL1502 American Airlines route not published on stand or taxiing — —
KAL011 Korean Air route not published on stand or taxiing — —
N522DZ — route not published on stand or taxiing — —
B19 — route not published on stand or taxiing — 9 kts
B08 — route not published on stand or taxiing — 7 kts
UAL1945 United Airlines route not published on stand or taxiing — 12 kts
UAL935 United Airlines route not published on stand or taxiing — —
SKW5553 — route not published on stand or taxiing — 15 kts

Arriving now

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
AAL1719 American Airlines LAX → YVR on approach 300 ft 140 kts
SKW6243 — route not published on approach 250 ft 131 kts
N554AV — route not published on approach 275 ft 118 kts
UAL374 United Airlines route not published on approach 375 ft 128 kts
SKW3902 — route not published on approach 1,425 ft 130 kts
N350TV — route not published on approach 250 ft 64 kts
N9765D — route not published on approach 275 ft 62 kts
AAL2903 American Airlines route not published on approach 2,925 ft 192 kts

Overhead and in the area

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
SKW6511 — route not published in the area 200 ft 55 kts
N353MV — route not published in the area 1,475 ft 101 kts
N50Q — route not published in the area 1,200 ft 112 kts
N9216J — route not published in the area 1,000 ft 107 kts
N472LA — route not published in the area 950 ft 108 kts
N4390K — route not published in the area 1,400 ft 107 kts
N644WB — route not published in the area 950 ft 83 kts
N17080 — route not published in the area 1,000 ft 36 kts
75.1M
Annual passengers (reference)
4
Runways
9
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

DestinationMain airlinesWhy 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.

FlightRouteTypical aircraft
DL41 LAX → SYD Airbus A350-900Track DL41 →
AA1 JFK → LAX Airbus A321TTrack AA1 →
AS11 JFK → LAX Boeing 737-900ERTrack AS11 →
B6615 JFK → LAX Airbus A321Track B6615 →
AV398 SAL → LAX Airbus A320Track AV398 →
CM472 PTY → LAX Boeing 737 MAX 9Track CM472 →
EK215 DXB → LAX Airbus A380-800Track EK215 →
CX880 HKG → LAX Boeing 777-300ERTrack CX880 →

Nearby and related airports

Geographically close airports and useful alternatives in United States.

LAS Harry Reid International Airport Las Vegas, United States SFO San Francisco International Airport San Francisco, United States PHX Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Phoenix, United States HNL Daniel K. Inouye International Airport Honolulu, United States SLC Salt Lake City International Airport Salt Lake City, United States ABQ Albuquerque International Sunport Albuquerque, United States DEN Denver International Airport Denver, United States SEA Seattle - Tacoma International Airport Seattle, 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

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 119 in range as this page loaded. The boards split them into departures, arrivals and traffic passing overhead, all timed in America/Los_Angeles.