Passenger Count Tops 61 Million at LAX

More than 61 million passengers moved through Los Angeles International Airport last year, pushing passenger volume up nearly 2% over the previous year, the city Department of Airports reported Tuesday.

Domestic passengers outnumbered international travelers by 3 to 1, but foreign passengers beat domestic in growth rate: 2.3% versus 1.6%. More than 46 million domestic travelers passed through the airport, compared with more than 15 million foreigners.

Passenger volume has been increasing steadily over the last five years, airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles said, largely due to the strength of the U.S. economy. Since 1994, the number of passengers moving through LAX has risen 20%.

“If you have more discretionary income, you’re going to travel more,” Castles said.

Commuter traffic rose about 12% in 1998, airport officials said. About 3.4 million passengers took short hops--flights of 90 minutes or less--from LAX, compared with 3 million a year ago.

Cargo volume through the airport fell slightly last year, down 0.7% from the year before, mostly because of economic turmoil in Asia, Castles said. “The Asia-Pacific region is LAX’s top trading partner,” she said.

More than 2 million tons of cargo moved through the airport in 1998, largely unchanged from 1997.

Asia’s financial troubles also cut the number of passengers flying into L.A. from that part of the world. In particular, fewer travelers arrived from South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia last year.

But the volume of mail cargo, which includes Federal Express and United Parcel Service flights, jumped 25%.