If you mention LAX to just about anyone, they will probably know that you’re referring to one of the largest airports in the world, Los Angeles International. How did that happen? If you said ‘EGLL’, they wouldn’t know that was the ICAO code for Heathrow. I can only surmise that it’s appeared in so many films and videos that this International Air Transport Association (IATA) code has become a household name. Yet in Europe we would still probably refer to it using the ICAO code KLAX. The ‘K’ designation prefixes all US airports in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) location indicator.
The airport was opened in 1928, although the first hangar was not built until a year later. That building is still in use today and is a listed building on the National Register of Historic Places. It wasn’t until 1958 that the plans for the current layout were drawn up and then a further 22 years before they began implementing them. The catalyst was the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, with the need for the airport to accommodate literally millions of visitors to the city.
The Greater Los Angeles area is served by several other airports, including Hollywood-Burbank, John Wayne (Orange County), Long Beach, Ontario International and …
