LAWA was established in 1928 as the Los Angeles Department of Airports for the purpose of operating Los Angeles Municipal Airport, originally known as Mines Field. The Department of Airports changed its name to Los Angeles World Airports in 1997.
In 1967, the city of Ontario in neighboring San Bernardino County asked LAWA to enter into a Joint Powers Agreement for the operation and management of Ontario International Airport. LAWA acquired ONT from the city of Ontario in 1985 and expanded the airport's 485 acres of land to more than 1,700 acres and invested more than US$500 million in improvements. In April 2013, the city of Ontario filed a legal complaint against LAWA alleging mismanagement of ONT, ultimately resulting in a 40% decline of traffic between 2007 and 2013. LAWA countered the complaint citing the Great Recession was responsible for the decline in activity. After years of negotiations, LAWA sold back its shares of ONT to the newly-formed Ontario International Airport Authority in December 2015 for a total of US$190 million. It transferred operational management of the airport to OIAA on November 1, 2016.
In 1969, LAWA began searching for the location of a secondary international airport to relieve congestion at LAX. The location that LAWA decided on was in the Antelope Valley near the city of Palmdale. From 1969 to 1983, LAWA acquired over 17,500 acres through voluntary acquisitions and eminent domain to develop an intercontinental airport. Development of "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport" never materialized due in part to lack of demand for commercial air services, environmental litigation, and opposition from the United States Air Force whose United States Air Force Plant 42 is located adjacent to LAWA-acquired land. LAWA entered into a lease agreement with the USAF to use Air Force Plant 42 runways and to build and operate a small terminal. Palmdale Regional Airport began commercial operations in June 1971, but was not able to maintain steady demand with passenger traffic peaking in 1978 with 36,000 passengers before airline services eventually ceased in 1983. Two airlines began operating commercial services at PMD in 1990, but were again unable to maintain demand and ended services in 1998. In June 2007, United Airlines began operating at PMD, but ceased operations in December 2008 citing lack of demand. At the end of 2013, LAWA transferred its lease with the USAF to the city of Palmdale.
Operations
Airports
Los Angeles World Airports owns and operates two airports:
Los Angeles International Airport in the city of Los Angeles
Van Nuys Airport in the Van Nuys neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley
LAWA still owns over 17,500 acres of land in the Antelope Valley that was acquired for the yet-to-be-developed "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport" and leases portions of it.
Revenue and Expenditures
LAWA raises revenue by collecting aircraft landing fees, in addition to property leases and concession fees from airport tenants. Expenditures include runway and building maintenance fees, capital improvements and administration.
Governance
LAWA is a branch of the city of Los Angeles and is governed by a seven-member Board of Airport Commissioners. The Los Angeles City Charter requires one member to reside within the area surrounding LAX and another member to reside within the area surrounding VNY. The board is appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles and approved by Los Angeles City Council. The Mayor also appoints the Executive Director who oversees over 4,000 employees and the day-to-day operations of the two airports. The current Executive Director is Deborah A. Flint, who was appointed in June 2015.
Board of Airport Commissioners
As of May 2019, the Board of Airport Commissioners are as follows:
Below is the list of LAWA Executive Directors from 1928 to the present:
Clifford W. Henderson
Richard Barnitz
Woodruff DeSilva
Clarence Young
John W. Reeves Jr.
Robert A. McMillan
Francis T. Fox
Clifton A. Moore
John J. Driscoll
Lydia H. Kennard
Kim Day
Gina Marie Lindsey
Deborah A. Flint
Law enforcement
LAWA maintains its own police department, the Los Angeles Airport Police sometimes referred to as "LAWAPD" or "LAXPD". LAWAPD is the fourth largest law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County, with more than 1,100 law enforcement, security and staff personnel. LAWAPD has patrolled jointly with the Los Angeles Police Department since the opening of the current terminal area in 1961. In 2002 then-mayor James Hahn assigned additional LAPD officers to LAX to provide armed law enforcement officer coverage at passenger screening stations. Those officers are trained by LAWAPD officers to perform this function. They are assigned on an overtime basis, with LAWA reimbursing LAPD and, in turn, receiving substantial reimbursement from the Transportation Security Administration.
