Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) travelers and frontline personnel are still waiting for the much-vaunted Automated People Mover, an infrastructure project now years past its initial target. The Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association (LAAPOA) stepped forward to demand rigorous answers and swift action, throwing its full support behind city leaders pushing for institutional accountability at Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA).
Instead of moving passengers, the project has languished in its final stages, missing major international milestones like this year’s World Cup and exposing deep operational friction within the city’s airport management.
A Stalled 4 Percent and Decades-Low Staffing Levels
The numbers tell a stark story of a project frozen on the cusp of completion. Construction on the People Mover began in 2019 under then-LAWA CEO Deborah Flint and continued under her successor, Justin Erbacci. By April 2022, the entire 2.25-mile elevated guideway was complete. By March 2024, as new LAWA CEO John Ackerman settled into his role, the ambitious transit system sat at 96 percent completion.
Yet, over the subsequent two and a half years under Ackerman’s direct oversight, the final 4 percent of the project has stalled. The prior administration achieved 96 percent of a massive civil engineering undertaking in approximately four years, while the remaining stretch remains unfinished.
LAAPOA President Marshall McClain argues that this stagnation contrasts sharply with internal spending priorities at the agency. According to the union, while the transit connector languishes, executive ranks and top salaries have expanded. Meanwhile, sworn staffing for the Los Angeles Airport Police Department (LAXPD) has dwindled to levels not witnessed in approximately 20 years.
City Hall Scrutiny Mounts Over Escalating Costs and Missed Deadlines
Political pressure is mounting inside the Los Angeles City Council. Los Angeles City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, bolstered by the backing of Councilmember Traci Park, has formally demanded answers regarding the mounting delays, ballooning costs, and lack of operational transparency at LAWA.
“LAAPOA welcomes Councilmember Rodriguez’s scrutiny of the People Mover and believes the same accountability should extend throughout LAWA,” McClain noted in a public statement. The union is asking why a project originally scheduled to welcome passengers years ago remains trapped in administrative and construction purgatory.
Frontline officers responsible for public safety across the airport complex report ongoing administrative turbulence. Despite leadership claims prioritizing a transformed passenger experience and supportive internal reforms, LAXPD officers have continuously confronted persistent payroll and contractual problems that have worsened during Ackerman’s tenure.
The Path Forward for LAX Infrastructure and Security
The standoff over the Automated People Mover highlights a widening chasm between executive ambition and ground-level execution at LAX. As city leaders demand financial and operational justifications from airport management, the coalition of labor, oversight bodies, and frontline personnel is refusing to let the delays fade quietly.
Resolving the impasse will require more than revised timelines or public relations messaging. It demands a transparent accounting of why a 96-percent-finished infrastructure lifeline remains idle while security staffing strains under decades-low headcount.
