LAX is the three-character International Air Transport Association airport code for the Los Angeles International Airport. LAX is one of the busiest airports in the world - almost fifty-nine million passengers flew through LAX in 2010, making it the sixth busiest airport in the world; it was the fifth-busiest in 2009.LAX opened in 1930 as a small municipal airfield. It has since grown to cover
. five square miles of Los Angeles, with six runways, a helipad, eight domestic terminals and a single international terminal. The eight domestic terminals are numbered one through eight; the international terminal is the Tom Bradley International Terminal, named for the longest-serving mayor of Los Angeles. The nine terminals are arranged in a U-shape, with parking inside the U and gates on the outside, and are connected to each other by shuttle buses or airside walkways. To accommodate more travelers, LAX recently began the Bradley West construction project, designed to add more gates, more passenger space (including lounges, restaurants and shops) and an additional security access point. The new Bradley West terminal will also have gates for super jumbo aircraft.Because the Los Angeles International Airport is so large, terminal maps are essential to finding the right restaurants, lounges, airlines, gates and other services. The Los Angeles World Airports site hosts maps of each terminal in pdf, showing the location of restaurants and cafes, shopping, services, bathrooms, gates and airport lounges within each terminal: http://lawa.org/welcome_LAX.aspx?id=256. The LAWA site also contains a map of the airport itself in pdf; although it doesn't show any gate numbers or services, it does show the relationship of the terminals to each other and the airlines flying out of each terminal.The LAX International Airport site also has some terminal maps, including a three-dimensional overview of the airport (http://www.airport-la.com/info/terminal_map.html). For those who prefer the simple approach, the Airporter Terminal Maps site has simple schematic schetches of the terminals showing only the gates and airlines (http://www.airportterminalmaps.com/LAX-terminal-map.html). More reference links: http://lawa.org/welcome_LAX.aspx?id=256 http://www.airportterminalmaps.com/LAX-terminal-map.html
