Thousands of FIFA World Cup spectators are pouring through Los Angeles International Airport while the long-awaited automated SkyLink people mover remains non-operational. After a planned 2023 opening, the electric rail system has been held up by technical iss
When thousands of FIFA World Cup spectators started streaming into Los Angeles International Airport. the scene planners had imagined looked simple: travelers would lift out of the airport’s traffic choke points and ride a new electric train high above the road loop—straight into a shiny transportation center.
Instead, the SkyLink system still hasn’t carried a single passenger.
Three years after its planned 2023 opening date. the automated people mover—dubbed SkyLink and billed by some as a crucial missing link in the region’s commuter rail network—remains stuck in technical hiccups and legal disputes. Its long delay isn’t just a bureaucratic snag. It’s showing up for real people arriving with tight schedules and limited patience. trying to find the fastest way out of LAX amid the congestion the project was designed to ease.
“It is frustrating it’s not open yet and I think if political leaders were serious about. you know. really understanding what’s going wrong and making sure it doesn’t happen again. like there should be some accountability. ” said Ethan Elkind. a rail expert and director of the climate program at the Center for Law. Energy and the Environment at UC Berkeley.
At the center of the stalled timeline are disputes between Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and the contractor hired to design and build the system, LAX Integrated Express Solutions.
In a report dated June 15. LAX Integrated Express Solutions said LAWA project impediments include airport landscaping work. approval delays. and impacts from other projects. Because of those issues, LAX Integrated Express Solutions projected that passenger service would not begin until at least early October.
LAWA. asked about the status of SkyLink. said the safety and reliability of the train remain its highest priority and pointed to the testing needed before any riders come on board. LAWA said it would not compromise on “stringent safety protocols. ” describing as standard industry practice rigorous testing of all tracks. signaling systems. and vehicles to ensure “seamless long-term system integration.”.
LAX Integrated Express Solutions did not respond to a request for comment on the status of SkyLink.
One of the disputes LAWA and the contractor are embroiled in involves a $36 million claim over repair work that LAX Integrated Express Solutions says is not its responsibility.
The numbers behind the promise are big: the roughly $3.34-billion train project is part of a larger $30-billion package of upgrades to LAX.
Testing, meanwhile, has become its own bottleneck. In April, LAWA announced that testing would finally begin on the rail line. As part of that testing, the train must run 30 consecutive days without a problem before it can accept passengers. That requirement has yet to be met. The first phase of testing was supposed to start the week of April 20—about 60 days ago.
For now, visitors landing at LAX must still wait to “soar above local traffic” in the way SkyLink was marketed to do.
Joshua Lucas, a passenger recently arriving at LAX, described the calculus many travelers end up making once they’re on-site. “However you can get out of LAX the fastest and the cheapest is how everybody’s calculating in my circle of bartenders and magicians,” he said.
When the system does open to the public. its fully automated electric cars are designed to arrive every two minutes during peak hours of 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., with an estimated end-to-end time of 10 minutes. The line would run 2.25 miles and serve six stations. Three stations are within the airport. and the other three would connect passengers to the Economy parking and Ground Transportation Center—where “over a mile of custom curbs” have been installed for rideshare services—as well as the LAX/Metro Transit Center Station and the LAX Rental Car Center.
Even supporters acknowledge SkyLink won’t erase congestion by itself. Jacob Wasserman, the UCLA Institute of Transportation research program manager, cautioned that SkyLink “wouldn’t be a fix-all solution” to the snarl around LAX. Rather, he said it “offers an alternative.”
“You can choose to avoid the traffic,” Wasserman said.
Looking ahead, there is still hope the system could be operational for major events. Hopes remain high for SkyLink to be operational for Super Bowl LXI in 2027 and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.
Large sporting events have repeatedly driven major pushes to L.A. infrastructure, and Wasserman pointed to a pattern stretching back decades. He highlighted how the second level of the horseshoe-shaped road around the LAX terminals was added in preparation for the 1984 Olympics. saying it “sort of shows that the airport has always been on the minds of people as we plan for these mega-events.”.
Elkind added that beyond LAX. the 1984 Olympics served as a motivating force for building the beginnings of Los Angeles’s modern rail system. He said voters in the city approved a sales tax measure for rail projects in 1980. and that the Olympics helped reduce traffic and. “rhetorically at least. ” sped up rail projects.
For the people landing now—especially those arriving for the World Cup—the question is less rhetorical. It’s practical: when will a system designed to move passengers efficiently actually start doing what it promised, and what happens to travelers—and public trust—while the opening keeps slipping?
LAX SkyLink people mover FIFA World Cup Los Angeles World Airports LAWA LAX Integrated Express Solutions rail delays transportation upgrades congestion