Los Angeles International Airport APM Planning

Over the last decade, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has undertaken an extended master planning process for the future of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The initial three detailed plans (Alternatives A, B, and C) focused on expansion to the west: adding a new landside terminal and concourses and including one or more must-ride automated people mover (APM) systems in a variety of configurations to connect them. There were also APMs to connect the new terminal and concourses with the existing central terminal area (CTA). A more recent version of the master plan, Alternative D, is focused on renovating and rebuilding the existing terminals and relocated and new landside facilities for increased security as well as to accommodate the new larger aircraft soon to be in use. This plan includes three must-ride APM routes. This paper will trace the evolution of the APM planning at LAX as part of this master plan effort, including the reasons for changes and the APM responses. The final APM plan and its implementation challenges will be given. This paper will include both the specifics of this large airport APM and use it as a case study in APM planning.