Runway Closures At LAX To Cause Flight Delays

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Officials at Los Angeles International Airport offered a tour Friday of an upcoming airfield maintenance and runway construction project that will result in phased closures of the airport's four runways and possible flight delays.

Beginning March 6, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will operate phased closures of the airport's four runways for runway construction, general airfield maintenance and federally-mandated Runway Safety Area construction, according to Los Angeles World Airports spokesperson Amanda Parsons.

The project will improve the buffer zones at the end of each runway, so that if an aircraft should overshoot or veer off the runway while landing or taking off, the Runway Safety Area is the place to go.

"It just extends the amount of land that the aircraft can safely operate on without causing any problems for the passengers," said Roger Johnson, deputy executive director of LAWA.

The closures - which will affect one runway at a time - are expected to continue until September 2018 and are expected to cause flight delays "similar to those experienced during inclement weather at LAX," Parsons said.

Flight paths will also change so neighbors could see a temporary increase in the number of planes overhead.

"Depending on when the closures are happening and what side, those communities could potentially see some different flight patterns which could increase the noise," LAWA spokeswoman Mary Grady said.

Airport officials say they will have a better idea of how construction will impact travel delays after the first phase is finished in April.