Los Angeles airport traffic up 8.3%

Emily Pacey

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LAX reports record traffic figures for the last quarter

Los Angeles International airport welcomed more passengers in the first three months of this year than in any previous first quarter in its 76-year history. Traffic in this year's first quarter increased by 8.3% on the same period last year, to 4.1m passengers.
 
The airport has been slower to recover from the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the SARS breakout than most other major US airports.
 
Los Angeles is the nation's main gateway to Asia and its second point of departure for Latin America. Europeans and Asians were encouraged to travel to the airport by low airfares, an early Easter holiday and a weak US dollar. This boosted international traffic in the first quarter even as domestic flights continue to lag.
 
The growth in passenger traffic is having a beneficial effect on retail sales. Duty Free Shops vice president of business development Joe Lyons said: "Sales are increasing with us, for sure."