Los Angeles World Airports has unveiled 40 new Automated Passport Control (APC) kiosks at Los Angeles International, which will expedite the entry process for international arriving passengers at the airport’s transformed Tom Bradley International Terminal.
The 40 new Automated Passport Control kiosks at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal will reduce queues, and enhance the airport journey for arriving US and Canadian citizens and passengers from 38 approved countries who are travelling on the ESTA programme.
US and Canadian citizens arriving from abroad, and passengers from 38 permitted countries who are travelling on the US Customs and Border Protection’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) programme, are eligible to use the new machines, which allow international travellers to submit their customs declaration form and biographic information electronically, reducing the time they spend with an officer. Easy-to-follow instructions guide the user through the process, which includes scanning your passport, taking a photograph using the kiosk, answering questions, and fingerprinting for non-US citizens, in one of 13 available languages. Travellers then receive a receipt confirming their information and proceed to a Customs and Border Protection officer to complete their entry into the United States. The airport has stated that individuals can complete the process within 90 seconds and a family of three within four minutes.
“These kiosks will allow passengers to avoid long lines and reduce wait times at customs, so they can be out the door faster and on their way to exploring the greatest city in the world,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “This important improvement to the passenger experience is all part of our work to overhaul nearly every terminal and bring rail to LAX, because Los Angeles deserves a world-class airport.” Over $7 billion (€5.5bn) is being invested in more than 20 individual projects as part of an airport-wide modernisation facilitated by the Los Angeles Airport Capital Improvements Program, which will bring the airport to the forefront of the aviation industry and is considered to be the largest public works programme in the history of the City of Los Angeles.
“After a long flight, the last thing passengers want to do is stand in line to process through federal inspection to enter the US,” Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey said of the kiosks’ implementation. “With the faster processing times, shorter lines, and increased convenience these APC kiosks bring to LAX, we expect the passenger experience of the millions of international passengers who travel through the airport each year to improve substantially.”
An airport-wide transformation
A lengthy environmental entitlement process meant that LAX has had a long wait for its transformation to take place, but now it is embracing the unique opportunity to overhaul its infrastructure and establish a state-of-the-art facility that meets the needs of its passengers and expedites its design for large-scale global growth. “The gateway-wide development will bring the airport into 21st century, provide what our customers need, and do so with iconic architecture for a beautiful public space,” explained Samson Mengistu, Los Angeles World Airports’ Deputy Executive Director Administration and Finance. “More than $3 (€2.4bn) billion has already been invested, and there is much more to come both airside and in the terminals.”
The renewed Tom Bradley International Terminal is the architectural jewel in the LAX modernisation programme to create a world-class transportation facility befitting a cosmopolitan city like Los Angeles. The $1.9 (€1.5bn) billion project will provide greater capacity to TBIT with a total of 18 new gates, nine of which will comfortably accommodate passenger loads for new-generation aircraft, and a Great Hall for premier dining and shopping.
The first phase of the TBIT project, which encompassed the gates on the west side of the terminal, the Great Hall, and expanded federal customs and immigration screening area, was completed in the autumn of 2013. Phase 2, encompassing the East Gates, expanded areas for federal passenger security screening, airline lounges and other elements, is scheduled to be fully completed by 2015. In 2010, a $737 million (€580m) renovation of the existing terminals, in-line baggage-screening system and improvements to the ticketing and arrivals lobbies was completed, enhancing customer service and convenience at LAX’s primary international terminal.
In addition to the state-of-the-art terminal there is a number major airfield and facility projects underway, including a new Central Utility Plant that will heat and cool the airport’s terminals, new taxiways and taxilanes, and renovations to other terminals. The improvements are all tailored to the ongoing growth of the airport, enabling it to fulfill its existing demands and embrace route network opportunities. In the last year the airport has seen the start of major new services including an Etihad Airways non-stop to Abu Dhabi; Saudia to Jeddah, and Norwegian to Oslo and Copenhagen, and its global expansion is set to continue. “We are a great Pacific Rim gateway, and we want to maintain that rank for a long time, and enhance our competitive position,” Mengistu said. “The future is definitely bright for LAX.”
