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What you need to know about LAX's monumental terminal move
Fifteen airlines will swap terminals over Mother's Day weekend, including Delta, which will move from Terminals 5 and 6 to Terminals 2 and 3.
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Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Delta Air Lines
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Fifteen airlines at Los Angeles International Airport will play musical chairs come Mother's Day weekend. They'll be moving terminals as part of a modernization plan that includes a mass reconfiguration of airline terminals.
The reconfiguration affects approximately two dozen airlines. Some have already completed the relocation process, which began in January.
In the biggest shift, Delta, the airport's largest carrier, will move to terminals 2 and 3 from its current location in terminals 5 and 6. LAX spokesperson Mary Grady says the reconfiguration will be a boon for travelers.
"If you think about it, now you have the three busiest airlines [United, American and Delta] on the south side of the airport. By moving Delta over to the north side of the airport, it helps to balance things," she tells KPCC.
The airline will invest $1.9 billion into revamping Terminal 3, the only terminal at the airport that hasn't been renovated in the last few years. Delta also plans to build a connector between Terminal 3 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal so passengers can go from one terminal to another once they clear security.
The move starts on the evening of May 12, after all flights have landed, and continues through the morning of Wednesday, May 17. Most of the relocation will occur at night, when the airport is least busy.
After the last flight on "move" days, teams will work through the night to transition airlines. Delta's move will take multiple days to complete. On Mother's Day, the airline will be operating out of as many as four terminals — 2, 3, 4 and 5.
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Flying this weekend? A few tips:
- Check-in online.
- Find out what terminal you'll be flying out of BEFORE you head to the airport.
- Look up! "We're going to be changing those very large overhead signs every night, showing you where the airlines have moved to," Grady says.
- Volunteers in bright green vests emblazoned with the words "Ask Me" will be stationed throughout the airport to direct travelers.
- A bright green shuttle bus will pick up anyone who ends up at the wrong terminal.
All the moves slated for Mother's Day weekend
| Airline | Moving from | Moving to |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada | T2 | T6 |
| Allegiant | T3 | T5 (T6 check-in) |
| Avianca | T2 | TBIT (T3 check-in) |
| Boutique Air | T3 | T6 |
| Copa | TBIT (T6 check-in) | TBIT (T3 check-in) |
| Delta | T5/T6 | T2/T3 |
| Frontier | T3 | T5 (T6 check-in) |
| Hainan | T2 | TBIT |
| Hawaiian | T2 | T5 |
| InterJet | T2 | TBIT (T3 check-in) |
| JetBlue | T3 | T5 |
| Qatar | T2 | TBIT |
| Southwest Int’l | T2 | TBIT (T1 check-in) |
| Spirit | T3 | T5 |
| Sun Country | T2 | T5 (T6 check-in) |
| Thomas Cook | T2 | TBIT |
| Virgin America | T3 | T6 |
| Virgin Australia | TBIT (T3 check-in) | TBIT (T2 check-in) |
| Volaris | T2 | TBIT (T2 check-in) |
| WestJet | T2 | T3 |
| XL France | T2 | T6 |
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