Los Angeles-area air traffic remains mostly normal despite the fires
Despite a frightening sky of dark smoke, fast-moving flames and winds surpassing 75 miles per hour, airports and major airlines in heavily populated Southern California reported only slight disruptions from normal operating schedules on Wednesday afternoon. At Los Angeles International, which, as one of the world’s busiest airports, served 75m passengers in 2023, nearly 88% of the departed flights left on time on Wednesday, according to the aviation data provider Cirium. Some 627 departures were scheduled for the entire day. An airport spokesperson said there had not been any operational disruptions. Long Beach Airport said in a social media post that it had “not yet experienced significant impacts from the ongoing fire and wind emergencies.” An outlier was Hollywood Burbank Airport, where Southwest Airlines is the largest carrier. Mike Christensen, a spokesman for the airport, said that more than half of the 70 departures scheduled for Wednesday had been canceled. Carriers including American Airlines and Alaska Airlines reported few wildfire-related disruptions to their routes. “We’ve seen no disruption at LAX or in the area today despite the wildfires,” wrote Ethan Klapper, a spokesman for American, in an email. “Our team continues to closely monitor conditions during this dynamic situation with the safety of our customers and team members the top priority.” American and Alaska, as well Southwest, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines, have issued flight waivers, allowing passengers to rebook travel without incurring any extra fees. Forceful winds aren’t necessarily a major impediment to air travel. Modern airport runways are built to align with prevailing winds, which means pilots can often land and take off even under rough conditions. When crosswinds are too strong for safe operations, the FAA may use ground stops to limit departures from and to specific airports, an agency spokesperson said. If an airport is required to use a nonpreferred runway, it may reduce arrival and departure rates.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2025-01-10/general/los-angeles-area-air-traffic-remains-mostly-normal-despite-the-fires
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Los Angeles-area air traffic remains mostly normal despite the fires
Despite a frightening sky of dark smoke, fast-moving flames and winds surpassing 75 miles per hour, airports and major airlines in heavily populated Southern California reported only slight disruptions from normal operating schedules on Wednesday afternoon. At Los Angeles International, which, as one of the world’s busiest airports, served 75m passengers in 2023, nearly 88% of the departed flights left on time on Wednesday, according to the aviation data provider Cirium. Some 627 departures were scheduled for the entire day. An airport spokesperson said there had not been any operational disruptions. Long Beach Airport said in a social media post that it had “not yet experienced significant impacts from the ongoing fire and wind emergencies.” An outlier was Hollywood Burbank Airport, where Southwest Airlines is the largest carrier. Mike Christensen, a spokesman for the airport, said that more than half of the 70 departures scheduled for Wednesday had been canceled. Carriers including American Airlines and Alaska Airlines reported few wildfire-related disruptions to their routes. “We’ve seen no disruption at LAX or in the area today despite the wildfires,” wrote Ethan Klapper, a spokesman for American, in an email. “Our team continues to closely monitor conditions during this dynamic situation with the safety of our customers and team members the top priority.” American and Alaska, as well Southwest, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines, have issued flight waivers, allowing passengers to rebook travel without incurring any extra fees. Forceful winds aren’t necessarily a major impediment to air travel. Modern airport runways are built to align with prevailing winds, which means pilots can often land and take off even under rough conditions. When crosswinds are too strong for safe operations, the FAA may use ground stops to limit departures from and to specific airports, an agency spokesperson said. If an airport is required to use a nonpreferred runway, it may reduce arrival and departure rates.<br/>
