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Extreme Makeover: LAX Edition

Tired and dated airport to get a much-needed facelift

By Scott Weber

| Monday, Oct 19, 2009 | Updated 12:06 PM PST

If HGTV could makeover airports, LAX would be at the top of the to-do list. The tired, drab 70s décor with its popcorn ceilings and florescent lighting has made for depressing travels for years, but an extreme make-over is on the way. Airport commissioners are expected to approve a $1.13 billion plan to update the haggard facility.

The bulk of renovations will focus on reconfiguring the Tom Bradley International Terminal. Sorry domestic travelers, you're at the bottom of the list.

According to the LA Times, the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners is set to award two contracts to the Walsh Austin Joint Venture. The company will handle updating interiors and building new gates to accommodate modern aircraft such as the double decker A-380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Space will be enlarged to accommodate new ticket counters, security checkpoints, and passenger lounges. Retail space and immigration facilities will also be improved.

"The project will change how the airport looks to passengers and how international passengers arrive and depart. We are completely redoing the front door," Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, told the Times.

Two of the gates are scheduled to open by January 2012. The overall project should be completed by mid-2013, according to the Times.

The refresh marks the first major improvements to the airport since the 1984 Olympics.