Fewer people are flying in and out of Los Angeles airports than during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, with traffic at the region’s four main airports dropping 4% during the first quarter of 2025.
The biggest drop was at LAX, which saw 800,000 fewer travelers compared to the same time last year. For the first time in decades, LAX fell out of the ranking of the world’s top 10 busiest airports.
“Trump's tearing us up in terms of international tourism, but we're also seeing domestic tourism down,” said L.A. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, speaking before CEO of Los Angeles World Airports John Ackerman made his presentation to the budget committee.
Ackerman told KNX News’ Craig Fiegener that the decline in tourism is contributing to a steep dip in tax revenue for the city of L.A. LAWA is looking for ways to reverse the trend.
“For years, L.A. didn't need a sales team because it's L.A., and who's not going to fly to LA?” he said. “Well, we're finding out the hard way since the pandemic that a ot of people aren't gonna fly to L.A., so we've now put together a sales team and we're going out and we're getting around the world to tell people that, you know, we want their business.”
The L.A. Business Journal cites difficulties with Southwest Airlines, which accounts for nearly 90% of all flights in and out of Long Beach, as another factor in the traffic decline. Southwest has struggled with plane shortages and increased competition from budget carriers.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
