Los Angeles International Airport has been crowned the most reliable major airport in the country — putting the travel hub in some pretty impressive company, despite its own notorious problems with homelessness.
A new report from ConsumerAffairs ranked LAX No. 1 among major US airports for reliability, beating out Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for the top spot.
The study examined cancellation rates, delays and flight diversions using data from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation, finding that the most reliable airports generally shared one major characteristic: exceptionally low rates of cancellations and lengthy delays.
The West Coast dominated the rankings, with Seattle coming in third, Salt Lake City fourth and San Francisco International Airport landing at No. 6. Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport also cracked the top 10 at No. 7.
But while LAX may be keeping flights moving, its other problems have been considerably harder to clear up.
The airport has repeatedly faced scrutiny over its homeless population, with makeshift encampments outside terminals drawing attention to the city’s ongoing struggle to get people off the streets.
When Los Angeles hosted its first FIFA World Cup match in June, visitors arriving at LAX were warned they could be greeted by a disturbing sight: homeless people sleeping throughout the airport.
The Free Press’s Austyn Jeffs documented people using terminals as makeshift shelters, including one dog huddled in a blanket.
“On any given night, up to 130 homeless people are camping out in the terminals at Los Angeles International Airport,” NBC4 reported back in 2020.
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Police records obtained by the station showed LAX officers responding to 1,023 incidents in 2019, with many of the alleged crimes involving homeless people.
Jeffs claimed that the situation had continued into this year, with some people allegedly defecating inside terminals and one threatening to shoot passengers. Other reported incidents included assault, theft, carjacking and sexual battery.
The airport’s own website states that “entry to LAX is only allowed for airline passengers and persons meeting” and that the airport is “closed to the general public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
Meanwhile, not every major airport can boast the same reliability as LAX.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport ranked as the least reliable large airport in the country, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
DCA recorded the highest cancellation rate, at 2.8%, and canceled its final flight of the day more frequently than any other large airport in the country.
Still, ConsumerAffairs noted that nearly half of DCA’s delays were caused by incoming flights arriving late, suggesting the airport itself wasn’t entirely to blame.
The remaining airports in the bottom 10 included Miami International, Philadelphia International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, LaGuardia, Tampa International, Washington Dulles and George Bush Intercontinental.
ConsumerAffairs also examined medium-sized and smaller airports, with President Donald J. Trump International in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina bringing up the rear in their respective categories.
