By Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A massive new $1.73 billion concourse with 15 gates opened Monday at Los Angeles International Airport.
Known as West Gates, it will serve both international and domestic flights.
“This is a big day in a big city that’s building out a big new infrastructure,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said during an opening ceremony.
The 4½-year construction project was part of a $14.5 billion airport modernization project.
Located just west of the Tom Bradley International Terminal, the five-level, 750,000-square-foot (69,677-square-meter) West Gates concourse is 1,700 feet (518 meters) long.
Officials said it is based around a digitally based travel experience, including biometric boarding gates, thousands of places to plug in and access wireless internet — with 5G later this year — and touchscreen kiosks.
There are two nursing rooms, three play areas for children and a relief area for service animals.
The airport described the West Gates’ baggage handling and boarding system as the most advanced in the U.S.
The airport improvement project involves all of the airport’s passenger terminals. New facilities include an automated people mover train, a consolidated rental car facility and a parking structure for 4,300 vehicles.
And a new metro station will at long last connect the airport to Los Angeles County’s light rail system.
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