The United Airlines baggage check-in area at Terminal 7, at Los Angeles International Airport in 1965. Processes around flying were a lot simpler in the past. Photo / Supplied
The United Airlines baggage check-in area at Terminal 7, at Los Angeles International Airport in 1965. Processes around flying were a lot simpler in the past. Photo / Supplied
One of the busiest airports in the world, Los Angeles International Airport – commonly known as LAX – celebrated its 90th anniversary recently.
Incredible vintage pictures show the simplicity of air travel in the past, while the airport looks to the future.
When LAX began operations in 1928, there were no regular passenger operations at the airport – it was described by LAX historian Ethel Pattison as "a dirt patch with rabbits running around".
An aerial view of LAX in the present day. Photo / Supplied
The first structure, Hangar No. 1, wasn't built until June 1929 and the main terminal complex was only constructed in 1961 after major airlines began moving their facilities to LAX.
In 1936, the National Air Races were hosted at what was then called the Los Angeles Muncipal Airport.
Images show smoke from bombs, as military planes performed wartime maneuvers for the watching crowds. Nav y Voughts fly in formation, while in another image, stunt pilots perform on a glider as it is placed on a truck.
The 1936 National Air Races were held at Mines Field at Los Angeles Municipal Airport. Smoke is shown from bombs dropped by military planes displaying wartime maneuvers. Photo / Supplied
In 1961, the first plane arrived at the new LAX international terminal. Passengers walked on the moving sidewalk into the self-service baggage claim area for United Airlines.
The 420-foot moving sidewalk in the American Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport in 1964. Photo / Supplied
Travellers in the past all drove to the airport in their automobiles – and once air travel became mainstream, there was usually a long wait to drop and pick up passengers during peak holiday travel. Cars with overheated radiators would cause traffic to be backed up all the way outside the airport.
While driving is still one of the main ways of accessing the airport, a myriad of road networks connect to LAX. Car-less travelers can easily hail an Uber or hop on a LAX FlyAway shuttle that whisks passengers to Downtown L.A., Hollywood, Westwood and Van Nuys.
View of the front of the TWA Terminal building at Los Angeles Airport in 1959. Photo / Supplied
Next year, the Metro will extend the Green Line to connect with the new Crenshaw/LAX Line station. In 2023, the electric people-mover train will bridge the gap between LAX and the new metro station, so travelers can seamlessly get in and out of LAX using Metro trains.
Prior to the days of heightened airport security, flying was a much simpler process, with no metal detectors or X-ray machines. Travellers would board their planes and someone would take their bags and load them in the hold. Only police officers stationed at the airport were there to provide basic security to passengers.
Arriving international passengers show customs inspectors items they puchased overseas in the Customs Building at Los Angeles International Airport in 1963. Photo / Supplied
In the present, multiple layers of security are required to board a plane. Self-tagging kiosks at LAX have simplified the bag check process and automated screening lanes further speed up the carry-on luggage process, with five times as many loading stations, so that travellers can speed past slower one.
The passenger transit area inside Sattellite #2 at Los Angeles International Airport in 1962, where foreign airline carriers were based. Photo / Supplied
Future travellers will be able to check-in using facial recognition. Earlier this year, British Airways and Lufthansa rolled out the technology in the Tom Bradley International Terminal; Qantas and Korean Air will be the next to try the system.
Back in the 1960s, travellers would pass through the terminals directly onto the tarmac to board their flights via portable stairways – even VIPs went through this process.
Passengers descend an escalator into the self service baggage claim area for United Airlines after the first plane arrived at the new LAX international terminal in 1961. Photo / Supplied
Normal travellers now access planes through jetways, whereas VIP travelers can now take advantage of The Private Suite. A newly built terminal, The Private Suite is located a few miles away from LAX, has its own private TSA screening and a team of eight people to assist each travel party, from escorting to a private lounge suite to driving them across the tarmac to aircraft in a BMW 7 series sedan.
In 1963, passengers at Western Air Lines, wait for their baggage to come down the shutes at the baggage counter at Los Angeles International Airport. Photo / Supplied
Who knows what the future will bring – but judging by how fast technology has progressed in the last 90 years, we're sure to see more big changes.
