Los Angeles International Airport

Every time Qantas lands one of its giant Airbus A380s at LAX, parts of the nation's fourth-busiest airport come to a halt. Service roads, taxiways and runways must be closed to airfield trucks, cars and other commercial aircraft as the world's largest passenger plane -- with wings almost as long as a football field -- arrives, departs and taxis with an official escort of operations vehicles.

When Clifton Moore ran the Los Angeles airport system from 1968 to 1993, there wasn't much emphasis on dining and shopping for people waiting for their planes at LAX. About all they could get were the basics: a newspaper, a cup of coffee, cafeteria fare and a preflight libation. The mantra was "We are an airport, not a shopping mall," and people on the staff were proud that Los Angeles International Airport had the least concession space of any major airport in the United States. Not anymore.

A major Islamic group based in Orange County has questioned U. S. customs officials about the recent deportation of an Australian family that was detained at Los Angeles International Airport and prevented from attending a reunion with a seriously ill relative in La Habra.

Hit hard by a deepening recession and persistent declines in air travel, the number of passengers at Los Angeles International Airport dropped by almost 3 million in 2008, reversing the airport's slow recovery from 9/11 and the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak of 2003, new figures show. Year-end statistics from Los Angeles World Airports show that passenger levels at the nation's fourth-largest airport decreased from 62,438,583 in 2007 to 59,497,539 last year, a drop of 4.71%.

The man arrested at Los Angeles International Airport with a truck full of guns and nearly 1,000 rounds of ammunition said Saturday that he is a law-abiding weapons enthusiast who had no idea he might be breaking the law. A day after he was arrested on suspicion of felony transportation of an assault rifle, Phillip Dominguez said he was confident he would be exonerated. "In the post-Sept.

Up to half the aircraft that land at Los Angeles International Airport each day now use an arrival technique that saves fuel and reduces noise and air pollution in neighborhoods along the eastern approaches to the nation's fourth-largest airport, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced. Officials said Thursday that the technique also increases the safety of landings, one of the most critical phases of a flight.

An organization that represents more than 200 international airlines warned Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa this week that its members are concerned about the cost and design of improvements planned for the Tom Bradley International Terminal, the centerpiece of the effort to modernize LAX. In a letter dated Monday, the International Air Transport Assn.

The resumption of passenger service at Palmdale Regional Airport might take years, even decades, if the airline industry cannot recover strongly from the current economic recession, a new report by the Los Angeles airport authority predicts. "Certain conditions need to return for Palmdale to be deemed viable," said Mike Molina, a spokesman for Los Angeles World Airports, which operates the small facility.

From its perch by the runways, the Proud Bird Restaurant offers a commanding view of Los Angeles International Airport. But these days, the jets aren't screaming by as often as they did a few years ago. The streets surrounding the airport are quieter too, as freight companies idle their cargo trucks and lay off their warehouse workers. Shuttle and parking service companies, meanwhile, are fighting for customers as never before.

Boxer Mike Tyson was booked on suspicion of battery Wednesday after an altercation with a paparazzo at Los Angeles International Airport, according to authorities. The incident occurred at Terminal 7 in front of numerous witnesses about 4:30 p.m., according to Los Angeles Airport Police. The photographer was not identified. Tyson told investigators that the photographer struck him in an apparent attempt to provoke him, according to a police source who asked not to be named because the matter involved an open investigation.