If you happen to be traveling to or from Los Angeles (LAX) on American, JetBlue or Spirit in the near future, get ready for something different. LAX will be shutting down Terminal 5 to knock it down and rebuild the thing, and that means temporary relocations are required. The fact that LAX can actually shut down an entire terminal and absorb the capacity is pretty remarkable in its own right. Let’s talk about how this is going to happen.
When the jet age central terminal area at LAX opened in the early 1960s, there were six terminals. Here’s a view looking toward the west:
TWA’s Terminal 3 and American’s Terminal 4 were the first to open in 1961. In 1962, the International Terminal 2 opened as did United’s Terminal 7 and Concourse 8 as well as Western’s Terminal 5. Terminal 6 opened in 1963 and served several airlines including Continental and PSA. All of these were built as satellite buildings with underground walkways from the ticketing areas.
Every single one of these terminals has undergone some sort of transformation since that time.
- Terminal 2 was razed when the Bradley Terminal opened for the 1984 Olympics, and it was then rebuilt for Air Canada, Hawaiian, Northwest, and Pan Am (probably others I’m forgetting)
- Terminal 3 was prettied up during the brief life of Virgin America, but it was finally crushed during the pandemic when Delta rebuilt it
- Terminal 4 is just finishing up a complete rebuild that was done in phases
- Terminal 5 was rebuilt in phases in the mid-1980s, opening up in its current form in 1988
- Terminal 6 just finished a big project to improve the terminal, but the original still exists in there somewhere
- Terminal 7 and 8 have been expanded and built upon many times, but the original form still exists inside
This doesn’t even include the construction of Terminal 1 and the Tom Bradley Terminal in time for the 1984 Olympics. In fact, it was the opening of Bradley that enabled the airport to raze Terminal 2 and start over. But even then, I recall a temporary bubble building being used to process international travelers during the transition.
For an airport the size of LAX, it is nearly impossible to just completely shut down a terminal. There just isn’t enough slack in the system. But every so often, something along the lines of that new Bradley terminal opening creates a pocket of excess capacity. And that’s exactly what’s happening right now, along with some other helpful trends.
Today, the three airlines in Terminal 5 start moving out, and they’ll be done in a week. The terminal will be knocked down completely during November and rebuilt from the ground up by 2028. How are they managing this feat?
1) Southwest Welcomes JetBlue
First, JetBlue will move its operation from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1 which has been the home of Southwest and Southwest alone for several years.
Terminal 1 was originally built for PSA in time for the 1984 Olympics, and when USAir bought the airline, it moved in. Both America West and Southwest also made themselves at home there. When America West and US Airways eventually ended up as part of American, they obviously moved out. Southwest had big thoughts, even having plans ready for a Concourse 0 that would give it more gates and international capability. That has now been shelved indefinitely, and Southwest hasn’t seemed too interested in growing LAX. It can’t even fill its 13 existing gates.
Southwest LAX Departures by Month
Data via Cirium
Even looking at next July when there is a slight uptick, Southwest will operate about 6 departures per gate per day. That is not much. At the same time, JetBlue has abandoned its focus city at LAX, so it has far fewer departures than it used to have.
JetBlue LAX Departures by Month
Data via Cirium
Just a couple years ago, JetBlue had about 38 daily departures. Next July it’s at 25 as of now, and that may be overly generous. It technically operates off of five gates today in Terminal 5, but it can fit most of its schedule on three of the 13 gates in Terminal 1 with some overflow. Problem solved.
2) MSC South Welcomes Spirit
Today when the airlines start leaving Terminal 5, the new Midfield Satellite Concourse opens its eight new gates. The MSC sits west of the Bradley Terminal and is the home of several international carriers including Air France/KLM. But these southern eight gates, which I took a photo of when flying in this summer, are built for narrowbody aircraft.
Spirit will shift to Terminal 2 just for check-in and baggage. The flights themselves will operate out there at the MSC South.
It certainly helps that Spirit has been struggling mightily and shrinking quickly.
Spirit LAX Departures by Month
Data via Cirium
In July of 2024, Spirit had 38 daily departures, about the same as JetBlue. By July 2025 it was just under 20 daily. The January 2026 schedule currently shows just over 15 daily. If Spirit survives, it won’t be big in LA, so it will have to deal with the less convenient passenger experience and spiraling costs… or it’ll have to just walk away.
3) American Gets More Bradley
The last tenant in Terminal 5 today is American which is spread across four different terminals. It has been rebuilding Terminal 4 slowly, and the end of that process is near. It has had five gates in Terminal 5, though it looks like it may only be using four now since there are construction closures. It also has the remote “Eagle’s Nest” for regional flying which requires busing. And it has had some gates in Bradley.
With the T4 project finishing up and the MSC South opening, American will be able to put more flights in Bradley.
Within a week, Terminal 5 will be closed. But why are they bothering? This is a terminal that was built for Western, and it was rebuilt entirely for Western in phases beginning in the mid-1980s. You can see that in one of my old timetables:
When the terminal was finished in 1988, Delta had taken over Western… and the terminal. It became the Oasis, and it was glorious, but it was still a frankensteined mess underneath. Just look at this overhead view where you can still see the original satellite buried in there:
Inside, it’s a complete mess. This picture shows why:
The terminal was built with a weird food concept that saw it go down to a lower level in the middle. The gates on each side sat higher. And many of those gates had just about no room. Considering most of these flights are on jam-packed airplanes with 160 seats or more, it is not uncommon to see this:
The new terminal will still have the same 15 gates that exist today, but it will be far more functional. There will also be a complete upgrade of the underlying systems, plumbing, etc that power the terminal. And there will now be easy connections to both Terminals 4 and 6 above ground from the security checkpoints instead of having to descend into the dark bowels of the basement into narrow tunnels as people do today.
When the new terminal opens in time for the 2028 Olympics, I’ve heard rumblings — but have not had them confirmed by LAX — that American will control 10 gates. That may be a big increase, but I believe that will allow the airport to shut down the Eagle’s Nest for good. Presumably JetBlue will move back if it still exists as an independent entity by then. And Spirit? Well, it’s not likely to exist by then. Come on.
When it’s done, this will be a huge win for travelers at LAX, and in the meantime, it is a very minor inconvenience thanks to some lucky circumstances that made this plan possible.
