With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
Analysis: Travel Is Down Almost 90% At LAX
The entrance to LAX on Thursday. (Valerie Macon / AFP)
()
Our friends in the APM Research Lab took a look at data published by the Transportation Security Administration to visualize exactly how precipitous the drop in air travel has been.
Since the beginning of March, the number of travelers screened at U.S. airports has plummeted by more than 96%.
Our own major hub, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), is typically the second busiest in the nation (after Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson), and the fourth busiest in the world.
The drop at LAX — which served nearly 90 million passengers last year — has been steep.
Support for LAist comes from
We asked Gabriel Cortes (our former intern), who did the analysis, for his key takeaways:
The drop in passenger volume at LAX is dramatic, and it reflects the grounding of most commercial air travel. However, even though outgoing passenger traffic is down almost 90% from a year ago, LAX is faring better than other U.S. airports. More than 1.5 million passengers were screened by LAX TSA for departing flights between March 1 and March 28.
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Kevin Lacy has an obsession with documenting California’s forgotten and decaying places. -
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures. -
It will be the second national day of protest against President Donald Trump. -
The university says the compact, as the Trump administration called it, could undermine free inquiry and academic excellence. -
This is the one time you can do this legally! -
Metro officials said it will be able to announce an opening date “soon.”
Best of LAist