Some travelers at Los Angeles International Airport may have found themselves in the wrong terminal Tuesday, as JetBlue shifted its operations to Terminal 1 in advance of the planned demolition and reconstruction of Terminal 5.
JetBlue is the first of three airlines that will move out of Terminal 5. On Wednesday, Spirit Airlines will move to Terminal 2, and next Tuesday American Airlines will move into Terminal 4.
"As we take this important step toward transforming LAX, the closure of Terminal 5 marks a pivotal moment in our journey to deliver a world-class airport experience," Doug Webster, Chief Airport Operations and Maintenance Officer for Los Angeles World Airports, said in a statement. "Our goal is to minimize disruption during this transition, and we are working closely with our airline partners to ensure continued operations and smooth travel for our passengers."
A passenger at LAX told KNX News’ Jon Baird she’s furious that she didn’t get the memo about changes.
“I'm so upset over the changes,” she said. “I was on the phone and texting with them all day yesterday. I'm sort of done after this flight. The miscommunication or the lack of communication or the timeliness of the communication, it's horrible, horrible, horrible. I won't fly them again.”
Another passenger said he was getting mixed messages.
“So then I called the phone number and I talked to two different people,” he explained. “They weren't sure where to go, and then they basically said, if you got an email, do what the email says. So that's what we did.”
The demolition of Terminal 5 is part of efforts to rejuvenate LAX in advance of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. After American Airlines shifts its operations to Terminal 4 next week, Terminal 5 will be completely shuttered to begin demolition efforts.
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Coinciding with JetBlue's move to Terminal 1 on Tuesday, LAX opened the recently completed Midfield Satellite Concourse South, an extension of the West Gates at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. The project added more than 150,000 square feet and eight gates to the terminal.
Both the Terminal 5 reconstruction and the Midfield Satellite projects are part of the airport's overall ongoing $30 billion facelift.
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