LAX AIRPORT SAFETY

The following travel tips will facilitate your arrival and departure flights from LAX.

Before Arriving at Airport

  • Be aware that LAX’s daily travel peak periods are from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. for domestic flights, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. for domestic and international flights.

  • Preset your car radio to AiRadio 530 AM traffic information and tune-in as you approach the airport.

  • Use this site for information on airlines, parking, passenger services, and ground transportation including how to get to and from the airport.

  • For a list of what not to pack or carry on board including other important information, visit the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) web site at www.tsa.dot.gov.

Luggage

  • Travel light. Smaller bags are easier to carry and stow and mean shorter waits at baggage claim and easier security/customs inspections.

  • Plan to pack more in your checked luggage and less in your carry-on bag.

  • Don’t carry or pack anything for anyone else or agree to watch a stranger’s bag.

  • Remove old claim checks to avoid confusion.

  • Identify luggage inside and outside with your name, business address and telephone number. Inside, include a copy of your itinerary.

  • Check your luggage early to ensure your bags make your originating and connecting flights.

Carry-On Bags

  • TSA recommends passengers be allowed one carry-on bag plus a personal item, such as a purse or briefcase, but exact limits are set individually by each airline.

  • Typically, the maximum size for a carry-on bag is 45 linear inches (height+width+depth).

  • Check with your travel agent or airline for information on carry-on luggage restrictions.

  • Pack prescription drugs (in original containers with a copy of the prescription), personal hygiene items, passports and important documents in your carry-on bag.

  • Pack valuable items, such as jewelry, cameras, cell phones, pagers and laptop computers, in your carry-on bag.

  • Do not wrap gifts to carry-on.

  • Consider packing small loose items in clear plastic zip-type bags.

How Much Time Needed

  • Call your airline to confirm flight before arriving at the airport.

  • Allow extra time for parking and shuttle transportation.

Check-In

  • Unless you specifically are told otherwise, plan to check in at the airline ticket counter.

  • If you are traveling with an e-ticket and only a carry-on bag, ask your travel agent or airline if you can proceed straight to security. Standards vary, but typically, to do this, passengers with e-tickets will need a picture I.D. (driver’s license/passport/government-issued I.D.), plus one of the following documents displaying a ticket number: copy of an e-ticket receipt; airline-generated itinerary confirming an e-ticket; or travel agency-generated itinerary and e-ticket confirmation. You may also need to show the credit card you used to purchase your e-ticket.

  • All adult passengers must have a picture I.D. (driver’s license/passport/government-issued I.D.). When making reservations, use the exact name appearing on the I.D. you will present at the airport. If your name has changed and the name on your ticket and your I.D. differ, bring documentation of the change (e.g., a marriage certificate or court order).

  • Non-U.S. citizens boarding international flights are required by the TSA to show evidence of admission into the United States, such as a visa, I-94, parole letters or alien resident card.

  • For passengers traveling to and from Mexico without a passport, be aware that airlines are requesting that your ID be officially notarized. LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal has a notary public available daily from 5:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. (PST).

Watch Your Bags!

  • In an effort to prevent an unattended bag from becoming a “suspicious bag” at the airport, please watch your bags at all times. Unattended bags will be confiscated.

Going to Your Gate

  • Have your boarding pass in hand and be prepared to show a valid photo ID at airline ticket counters, screening checkpoints, and at boarding gates.

  • Only ticketed passengers are allowed through security. Appropriate ticket documentation is required: a paper ticket, a boarding pass, or documentation of an e-ticket (check with your travel agent or airline). The TSA requires that all such documentation include ticket numbers.

  • CParents meeting unaccompanied minors and person accompanied by healthcare assistants or guardians should contact their airline in advance to make special arrangements.

  • Do not joke about bombs or firearms. Don’t discuss terrorism, weapons or explosives.

  • Always cooperate fully with all airport security personnel, other airline or airport staff and law enforcement officers.

Security Screening

  • Please remove all metal objects such as keys, coins, pens and pencils from your pockets and clothing and place them in your carry-on bag.

  • For travelers carrying metal souvenirs, please place these objects in your checked luggage.

  • If you have a laptop computer or video camera, please remove it from its case.

  • Expect questioning about your luggage and hand-searches of carry-on items.

General Airport Information

  • For current LAX information, call LAWA’s toll-free number at 1-888-544-9444, visit the LAWA web site at www.lawa.org, or listen to AiRadio 530 AM.

  • For emergencies, contact any airport employee or call Airport Police at (310) 646-7911.

  • For Airport Police Lost and Found, please call (310) 417-0440. If an item was lost on board an aircraft, please call the airline.

  • For individuals with disabilities, visit our Travelers with Disabilities page.

  • For passenger assistance in the terminals, visit the Travelers Aid Society booths on the Lower/Arrival Level near baggage claim areas or call (310) 646-2270.

  • For immediate information about the airport, call our toll-free number at 1-888-544-9444.

This information was compiled and provided by Los Angeles International Airport & iFlyLAX.com in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration/Transportation Security Administration, Civil Aviation Security, Southern California travel agents, and the American Society of Travel Agents.

For more information:

  • Log onto the LAWA Internet website at www.lawa.org.

  • Call the LAX toll-free phone number at 1-888-544-9444.

  • Tune radios to AiRadio 530 AM traffic information station.

  • Call LAX General Information Operators at (310) 646-5252.

  • Call the LAX Public Relations Division at (310) 646-5260.

  • In the terminals, visit the Travelers Aid Society passenger information booths located on the Lower/Arrival Level outside of baggage claim areas.

  • In the Tom Bradley International Terminal, visit the Visitors Information Booths located on the Departures and Arrivals Levels, or the Travelers Aid booth on the Arrivals Level.

  • Log onto the Federal Aviation Administration website for passenger security information at www.faa.gov.