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Delta completes successful relocation at LAX

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Rebecca Maloney Rebecca Maloney Americas Press Office ,Boston
28 July 2017

With assistance from Arup, Delta orchestrated the most challenging terminal move in commercial aviation history – the first step of a major modernisation programme.

Just before midnight on 12 May, Delta and Arup began the epic process of shifting Delta’s hub operations at Los Angeles International Airport from Terminals 5 and 6 to 2 and 3. As design manager, Arup was responsible for leading and coordinating all design activities on behalf of Delta Air Lines, which included three design teams working across five terminals.

A wide range of projects were required to facilitate the move including an overhaul of the existing ITC systems and installation of proprietary systems and equipment, the renovation and rebranding of passenger facilities including check-in and airline lounges, various capacity enhancement projects, and the restriping of 53 aircraft gates.

Crews gather on the LAX tarmac Crews gather on the LAX tarmac

“Thousands of people came together to make this extremely challenging move happen: 4,000 LA-based employees, hundreds of designers, architects, and builders, and hundreds of Delta employees and volunteer employees from Atlanta and across their system. This incredible work will allow us to begin the investment to create the best LAX experience for our customers.”

– Ranjan Goswami, Delta Vice President.

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Fundamental to the success of the relocation programme was an extensive ten-month planning process, in which we defined the facility requirements for each of the 26 airlines housed in Terminals 2, 3, 5, & 6 and the plan for their relocation. The resulting move plan defined an intricate series of overnight moves in which airlines swapped aircraft gates, check-in counters, lounges, baggage handling facilities, and back-of-house spaces. In total 25 of the 26 airlines changed terminals or moved to new locations within their existing terminals.

Infographic on Delta LAX move Infographic on Delta LAX move

The next phase

The move is a precursor to Delta’s plan to modernise and upgrade Terminals 2 and 3 and connect to the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which will be in construction for the next seven years. We will continue in our role as lead designer with a comprehensive multidisciplinary Gensler and Arup team.

The design will completely replace Terminal 3 and renovate Terminal 2, providing capacity increases for both greater passenger throughput and a wider variety and number of aircraft. Better passenger experience will be achieved by providing a consolidated security screening, consolidated bag claim, and secure connection between terminals.

Group photo of the Delta LAX move crew Group photo of the Delta LAX move crew

“Thank you for everything you did to get us through this week’s move. This first project phase was seen as a huge success by Delta, LAWA, and many others and a lot of that is because of you.” 

– Mark Pearson, Delta Airlines, VP Corporate Real Estate.

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