LAX Officials Say Airport Had 1/3 Number Of Passengers In 2020
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The number of passengers who traveled through Los Angeles International Airport in 2020 was about a third of the passengers that traveled through the airport in 2019, Los Angeles World Airport officials reported Friday.
Though officials noted estimated numbers are not final, the airport projects that 29 million passengers traveled through it in 2020, compared to the 88.1 passengers that traveled through the airport in 2019.
The "historic lows" were reached in April when LAX saw a 95% decline in passengers compared to 2019 numbers, officials said.
Along with the drop in passengers, flights were also reduced by about 45% in 2020, which saw 379,340 flights, compared to 691,257 flights in 2019.
"While we have experienced some growth over the last nine months from an initial drop of 95% in passenger traffic at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), we continue to have a long road ahead for our recovery," LAWA CEO Justin Erbacci said in a statement.
While passengers and flights decreased, the airport reported an "astonishing" 20.433% increase in personal protective equipment cargo operations, as LAX was the number-one U.S. airport for that trade category.
For total cargo, the airport was number three in the world.
"In 2020, even amid an unprecedented drop in travel demand and an extremely challenging financial situation, we accomplished remarkable feats," Erbacci said.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
