LAX: most terminals are 10 minutes from the curb, one is 30

From most LAX terminals, the curb is 10 minutes or less from the gate. From the Midfield Satellite it’s 12 to 30. For a domestic carry-on, that’s a typical landing-to-curb trip of 25 minutes from Terminal 1 and 42 from the satellite.

The curb may not be your ride

Rideshares and taxis don’t load at the terminal curb here. They leave from the LAX-it lot east of Terminal 1, so add that trip to anything on this page. Shuttles from the lower level run to the rental cars and to the rail connection.

Morning arrivals taxi longest

LAX’s median from landing to gate is 9 minutes, close to the national figure. The slow tail moves with the clock. In the 8 AM hour the slowest 1 in 10 take at least 27 minutes. From 2 to 7 PM it’s 14 or 15. It climbs back to 27 in the 10 PM hour.

So if you’re collecting someone off an overnight flight, “landed” comes with a wider range than the same flight at 3 PM.

Security has a long morning

Most airports peak for a couple of hours. LAX typically stays in the top band from about 7 to 11 AM on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and until noon on Mondays. Tuesday has no hour in the top band.

Evening has a smaller bump: around 8 to 10 PM on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays the band typically climbs back to 20–30 minutes, as the international flights leave.

Tom Bradley’s passport hall is the busy one

Tom Bradley processed 9.3 million arrivals in the past year, and 20.9% waited over 30 minutes. The Satellite 7 hall handled 1.1 million, and 7.2% did. In the 5 and 6 PM hours the airport-wide share falls to about 10%, the lowest of the day.

Of 17 lounges, Priority Pass opens 1, the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in Tom Bradley, with an extra fee at the door and listed hours only.

What this can’t tell you

LAX is the thinnest page here for lounges and pickups. Only 7 of 17 lounges are confirmed, and the pickup places need checking against the signs.

Walks are modelled from maps and nobody has timed them. The walk from the Midfield Satellite can run through the tunnel or by airfield bus, and this can’t say which you’ll get. Terminal 5 is closed for rebuilding, and airlines have moved.

Taxi figures cover domestic flights only, so a long-haul arrival at Tom Bradley isn’t in them. Passport counts mix citizens and visitors.

Security bands are typical, not live, and not a guarantee.

Taxi and passport figures are measured. Security bands and walks are modelled. Methods: landing to the curb, taxi-in, security hours.

Skycap says when you should be at the curb at LAX, and it counts your terminal once the gate is posted.

Typical security times are estimated from public passenger-throughput data. Not affiliated with any airport, airline or government agency.