The LAX people mover was supposed to start carrying passengers this month. It won't. The Los Angeles Times reported on September 24 that the contractor, LAX Integrated Express Solutions, is now aiming for January 6, 2027, and won't commit even to that. So Thanksgiving and the December holidays will run on the same airport setup as last year.
For anyone living in 90045, that matters less than the headline makes it sound. The work the train is meant to do, carrying people between the terminals and the LAX/Metro Transit Center on Aviation Boulevard, is already being done by a free shuttle. The nightly road closure that has made late departures awkward all fall is scheduled to end on November 13. Westchester's holiday airport plan for 2026 already exists. It just runs on rubber tires.
Why January is a target and not a date
The train is close to done. Fitch Ratings puts the $3.3 billion project at 99% complete, according to the Times. Several steps still stand between it and passengers. Before it can carry the public, the 2.25-mile system has to pass 30 consecutive days of successful testing, get an independent review, pass an assessment by Los Angeles World Airports, and finish a utility agreement with the L.A. Department of Water and Power.
The completion deadline is technically December 8. In a September 16 disclosure filing cited by the Times, the contractor said it expects to need more time than that, and it hedged on January too:
"There can be no assurances that achievement of the Passenger Service Availability Date will not be delayed further."
Seth Lehman, a senior director at Fitch, told the Times that the 30-day test was expected to begin "in the coming weeks." LAWA's position is that the train won't open until testing meets its safety standards. The contractor's own target is January 6, more than five weeks after Thanksgiving, so a holiday plan built around the train is a bet against the people building it.
The shuttle already running the train's route
The free Metro Connector shuttle runs daily from 4 a.m. to 1 a.m. and averages one bus about every 10 minutes, according to LAX. At the terminals it boards at the pink LAX shuttle stops on the Lower/Arrivals level, and the same page links to real-time tracking. At the other end it leaves from Bus Bays 1 and 2 at the LAX/Metro Transit Center.
That puts the airport's real front door for this neighborhood at Aviation and 96th, and plenty of routes from Westchester already end there:
- Culver CityBus Line 6 runs down Sepulveda Boulevard from UCLA to the Transit Center, passing Howard Hughes Center and Westfield Culver City. Its July 2026 schedule has Rapid 6 running weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Metro buses 102, 111, 117, 120 and 232 stop at the Transit Center, as do the C Line and K Line trains. Metro's regular fare is $1.75, and transfers within two hours are free when you tap.
- By bike, Metro runs a Bike Hub at 9225 Aviation Blvd. at the Transit Center, listed on its facts page.
The Transit Center has no pickup or drop-off area for private cars or rideshare vehicles, per Metro's guide to the station. A neighbor can't drop you there and drive off. You have to arrive by bus, train, bike or on foot.
The closure calendar favors Thanksgiving week
This fall's biggest change to airport driving has happened overnight. As part of its roadway improvements project, LAWA has been closing westbound Century Boulevard between Jetway Boulevard and Vicksburg Avenue every weeknight while crews install falsework. Here are the dates that shape the season:
- September 21 through November 13: westbound Century closes Monday through Thursday nights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., and Friday nights from midnight to 7 a.m. While it's closed, southbound Jetway between 98th Street and Century is also closed. Drivers headed for Departures are detoured to the Sky Way Bridge, but the westbound Century Arrivals ramp stays open.
- November 13: the scheduled last night of those closures, nearly two weeks before Thanksgiving on November 26.
- December 8: the contractor's technical completion deadline for the people mover.
- January 6, 2027: the contractor's hoped-for, uncommitted passenger opening.
Some closures will outlast the holidays. 96th Street between Sepulveda Boulevard and Vicksburg Avenue is closed through December 13, 2027, and Vicksburg between 96th and 98th Streets closed permanently in March. LAWA's notice tells drivers to follow posted detours. The Airport Return road through to northbound Sky Way at Admin East has been closed since June 9 for a project expected to take about 18 months. Terminal lane restrictions change week to week, and LAWA posts them in its weekly ground transportation alert.
Picking up family without circling the horseshoe
If your guests are coming in for Thanksgiving, the waiting is where most of the time goes. LAX runs two free Cell Phone Waiting Lots, both open 24 hours with a two-hour limit:
- 96th Street Lot, 6217 96th Street, with 100 spaces, just east of the Sky Way bridge entrance. You reach it from Jetway Boulevard or westbound 96th Street.
- Century Lot, 5800 W. Century Boulevard, with 23 spaces, on the southeast corner of Century and Airport Boulevard. You reach it from Century or Airport.
You have to stay with your car in either lot. Commercial and ride-service vehicles aren't allowed, there's no parking around the lots, and no shuttle serves them. With 23 spaces, the Century Lot can fill up on a busy holiday evening, so the 96th Street Lot, with more than four times the room, is the better default. Once your guest has their bags, private-car pickup happens at the outer curb on the Lower/Arrivals level.
If they're taking a taxi or ride app instead, pickup is still at LAX-it, the lot beside Terminal 1. Travelers walk there or ride the free shuttle from the green-marked stops on the Lower/Arrivals curb. LAX's own LAX-it page lists two different shuttle intervals, so check the live tracker before telling a tired relative how long they'll wait.
The $3 option versus the $35 one
When you're the one flying, Westchester's location gives you a cheaper option than the airport's own garage. LAX Economy Parking at 6100 W. 94th Street has more than 4,000 spaces. Drive-up rates are $8 for the first hour, $7 for each additional 30 minutes, and a $35 maximum per 24 hours. Free shuttles run 24 hours, about every 15 minutes, and the booking page advertises pre-booked rates starting at $15 a day.
Metro's Aviation/LAX station on the C Line charges $3 a day for parking that is open 24/7, gated and patrolled, according to Metro. Before a five-day Thanksgiving trip, check whether that daily rate covers the length of your stay. If it does, the gap against Economy's daily maximum adds up quickly. LAX notes that its parking rates can change, so confirm before you leave.
What moves when the train finally runs
Once the train opens, the rideshare and taxi lot will move from its spot near Terminal 1 to an area near the Transit Center on Aviation Boulevard, the Times reports. That puts the airport's pickup point on Westchester's east side, the same corner the Metro Connector shuttle already uses. No earlier move of LAX-it has been announced, so for the holidays it stays beside Terminal 1.
If family is staying through the season, check the local calendar too. Kentwood Players runs She Loves Me at the Westchester Playhouse, 8301 Hindry Ave., from November 13 through December 12. There are no performances November 27 through 29, so guests in town only for Thanksgiving weekend will miss it. The Westchester Family YMCA at 8015 S. Sepulveda Blvd. hosts its Spooktacular on Friday, October 23, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., with food trucks, games and a Halloween maze.
I've watched LAX construction change how Westchester streets work for more than two decades, and each phase shows up differently in how homes here get shown and sold. If you're thinking about what the airport's next chapter means for your street, Zacha Homes can walk you through it. Find out what your home is worth.
