(Los Angeles, CA) Today, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) virtually welcomed more than 500 high school students to LAX Aviation Career Day. Now in its fifth year, the half-day event exposed students from regional high schools to a wide variety of career paths including presentations from airlines, construction firms, first responders, government agencies and a variety of divisions within Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). The engaging program included question-and-answer sessions, videos and PowerPoint presentations. The premiere of a virtual LAX airfield tour capped off the day.

"Tens of thousands of people come together every day at LAX to deliver gold-standard service across a variety of professions, and Aviation Career Day lets high school students learn some of the stories behind the work our people do," said Michelle Schwartz, Chief Corporate Strategy and Affairs Officer, LAWA. "With careers in information technology, law enforcement, marketing, engineering, project planning, construction, and many other disciplines, aviation is where your career can truly take flight, as so many have at LAX."

Students from 19 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) high schools, El Segundo High School and Lennox Mathematics, Science and Technology Academy joined the event, representing grades 9 through 12.

Students were able to choose from two different tracks, based on their interests. Participating organizations included: the City of Los Angeles, Clark Construction, Delta Air Lines, HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program, JetBlue Airways, Los Angeles Airport Police, Mount San Antonio College's Aircraft Maintenance Technology Program, Poole Construction Company Limited (PCL), Signature Flight Support, Sling Pilot Academy, Southwest Airlines, Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, Touchstone Project Solutions and the Transportation Security Administration. Staff from LAX's Airport Operations, Environmental Programs Group, the LAXceeders student voluteer program and LAX Pets Unstressing Passengers (PUPs) therapy dog program also presented on behalf of LAWA.

About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

LAX, the third-busiest airport in the world and second busiest in the United States in 2019, is in the midst of a $14.3-billion capital improvement program that will touch on all nine passenger terminals and build new facilities, including an Automated People Mover (APM) train, Consolidated Rent-A-Car (ConRAC) facility and a 12- to 15-gate Midfield Satellite Concourse (MSC) addition to the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

In 2019, LAX served nearly 88.1 million passengers and offered an average of 700 daily nonstop flights to 113 destinations in the U.S. and 1,200 weekly nonstop flights to 91 markets in 46 countries on 72 commercial airlines.

LAX generates 620,600 jobs in Southern California, with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion, according to an economic study based on 2014 operations. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX's ongoing capital improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion; $966 million in state and local taxes; and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.

LAX is part of a system of two Southern California airports – along with Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City's general fund.

LAWA is leading the aviation industry in sustainability practices, with initiatives related to water management, energy (electricity) management, air quality, recycling and natural resources management. In 2019, LAX received Level III ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation from Airport Councils International-Europe.

LAWA is also a leader in inclusivity, operating eight programs that provide opportunities for business enterprises including local, small, minority-owned, veteran-owned and disadvantaged firms, and working together with community partners to offer the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program, which targets local workers to make them ready for rewarding careers in the construction trades, and the Build LAX Academy, designed to prepare small contracting businesses for success when working on projects at LAX.

LAX was named a top-10 U.S. airport by SKYTRAX in 2018, and was honored as the "Most Innovative Airport for Passenger Experience" in 2019 by the American Association of Airport Executives. LAX is the second-most popular airport in the world to appear on Instagram, according to wego.com. Other recent honors have included selection as the No. 9 Best Airport (Wall Street Journal); No. 7 Best On-Time Performance for a Mega-Hub Airport (OAG); one of "The World's Best Airports for Business Travelers" (GlobeHunters); Public-Private Partnership of the Year (P3 Bulletin); Urth Caffe, Best Airport Coffee Concession of the Year (Global FAB Awards); Innovation of the Year, Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ARTBA); Best Project, United Airlines Terminal 7 and 8 Redevelopment Program (Engineering News Record California); North American Public-Private Partnership Deal of the Year (IJ Global); and Innovative Transportation Solution of the Year, Automated People Mover (WTS LA).


As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities. Alternative formats in large print, braille, audio, and other forms (if possible) will be provided upon request.

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