Los Angeles International Airport is building a new Terminal 5 for the Olympics
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is about to launch its last major terminal project ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Known as “Delta’s oasis at LAX” when it opened in its current form in 1988, Terminal 5 is being demolished and completely rebuilt into a modern concourse with all the amenities travelers expect today.
“This is truly a big deal,” Hans Thilenius, deputy executive director for terminal development and improvements at LAX operator Los Angeles World Airports, said at a September board meeting. “It’s transformative for our guests and our employees, and it’s an engaging design — it has to have a wow factor.”
To achieve that “wow factor,” though, Terminal 5’s existing tenants — American Airlines, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines — will have to relocate.
Shift starts on Tuesday, October 21st. First up is JetBlue. The airline will move an average of 20 daily flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Terminal 1, where only Southwest Airlines currently operates.
Spirit will move its check-in counters to Terminal 2 on Wednesday, October 22. The airline operates an average of 15 flights daily from MSC South, just west of the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which officially opened Tuesday. Buses will take passengers from Terminal 2 to the new concourse.
American Airlines, the second-largest airline at Los Angeles International Airport, will consolidate flights from Terminal 4 and Tom Bradley International Terminal starting October 28.
The $1.4 billion Terminal 5 project is one of several at Los Angeles International Airport in preparation for the Olympics. The largest of these is a new automated train connecting all airport terminals to the new LA Metro station and comprehensive rental car center, which LAWA CEO John Ackerman hopes will open in June 2026. Other projects include a complete reconstruction of Terminal 4, which is partially completed, and upgrades to most of the airport’s other terminals.
New Olympic Terminal 5
The new Terminal 5 concourse is designed to be the next great space at LAX. Initial renderings show a glass-walled, multi-level lobby with a mid-century modern feel inside, with an outdoor terrace at the end for all travelers.
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“We’re going to make sure it’s a lovely space,” Courtney Moore, LAWA’s deputy executive director of strategy, innovation and experience, said at a September board meeting.
She said the new public terrace will be equipped with “all the telescopes you would expect at Griffith Observatory, so you can do some airplane observing and enjoy the natural beauty of the area.”
Southern California resident and aviation expert Brett Snyder wrote on his Cranky Flier blog on Tuesday that rebuilding Terminal 5 is greatly needed.
“The terminal is completed [in 1988] Had a weird food concept and saw it dropped down to the middle lower level. The gates on both sides are higher. Many gates have little to no space “for passengers to wait for their flights.”
Snyder described the new design as “more feature-rich,” with easier connections to adjacent Terminals 4 and 6.
Maybe American pilots win
American Airlines will benefit most from the Terminal 5 reconstruction. Documents from LAWA’s October board meeting show that the airline will give priority to 10 of the new terminal’s 15 gates when they open in May 2028.
The airline currently uses only five gates in Terminal 5.
Meanwhile, American Airlines appears to be losing its long-range terminal for regional jets, known as the Eagle’s Nest, when the new concourse is completed, according to LAWA board documents.
Overall, the Terminal 5 project means a better airport experience and easier connections for U.S. travelers — especially if they no longer have to take buses to remote concourses.
Whether all of this can open in time for the Olympics remains to be seen. The current timeline has the Terminal 5 concourse fully closed by October 28, with demolition taking three months and then construction taking two years – a feasible timeline but one that lacks much of a buffer before the opening ceremony on July 14, 2028.
“As our traffic is down, we don’t really need the capacity of this terminal to provide a great experience for the Olympics,” Ackerman said in response to questions at a September board meeting. “Our minimum plan is [Terminal 5] The five gates to the headquarters and front were then buckled shut, thus creating a beautiful, remarkable experience for the Games. “
LAWA has until the second quarter of 2027 to decide whether to show the world a partially completed Terminal 5 to host the Olympics, or a fully built concourse.
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