A record 70.6 million travelers passed through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in 2014, with the total passenger volume increasing 6 percent from the previous year.
LAX saw 70,662,212 total passengers in 2014, compared with 66,665,726 in 2013. Last year’s numbers broke a record of 67,303,182 passengers set in 2000.
International passengers accounted for 27 percent of total volume, or 19,105,667, a 7 percent increase from 2013.
Passengers on domestic flights grew 5.6 percent, from 48,813,587 passengers in 2013 to 51,556,545 in 2014, breaking a record set in 2000 of 49,887,433 domestic travelers.
The amount of cargo that went through LAX in 2014 grew 3.8 percent, from 1,928,720 tons in 2013 to 2,001,152 tons in 2014.
A 4.5 percent growth in the number of landings and takeoffs — from 614,917 operations in 2013 to 636,706 in 2014 — was apparently driven by increased commercial airline activity. Operations in all other categories, such as charter planes, general aviation and military, saw decreases.
Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, which operates LAX and other city-owned airports, said the increases in both passenger and cargo volumes reflect “an improving worldwide economy, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, and … a strengthening of the Southern California economy.”
“In addition, U.S. and overseas airlines are starting or expanding international services at LAX as a result of our ongoing, multi-billion-dollar LAX modernization program,” she said.