[Music] around the clock and around the world at any given moment of time hundreds of Swift airliners are weaving their patterns of peaceful trade and commerce along the invisible highways of the sky but wherever they may be and whatever their point of origin all of these planes have one thing in common they all have to land for some it may be Hong Kong gliding into a landing at one of the most exotic airports in the world or it might be Paris or Lisbon or Karachi or our own Honolulu but although flying is a great adventure
the men and women who operate the world's great airports feel that their part in today's air age is glamorous and exciting too and that is the theme of our story [Music] [Music] hello there welcome to Los Angeles International Airport I'm the director of operations we're always glad to show off our airport to visitors and especially to groups of young people like yours maybe you aren't using our facility yet but someday you will that is unless uh you want to board a rocket ship for Mars in which case we'd probably refer you to the closest Spaceport
but in the meantime we have a pretty interesting place to visit right here it's like a complete City really with its own roads and streets and its own buildings and specialized facilities all designed to accommodate the tremendous volume of air traffic which makes this one of the busiest airports in the world why at peak hours we have planes landing and taking off at the rate of 1 a minute and that requires thousands of Highly skilled people in a lot of complex facilities sorry I didn't mean to butt into your guided tour but when I get
to talking about my favorite subject I never know when to stop have a real good time and thanks again for your visit sometimes I wish the VIS visitors who come up to the observation deck could have seen this airport the way it was when I went to work here back in 1928 it was called mines field then and it was just a dirt strip running through a hay field but we promoted the idea of staging the National Air Races out here and that put us on the map the following year the graph Zeppelin paid us
a friendly visit which jammed up traffic for miles and in 1930 we officially dedicated Los Angeles airp Port which had two permanent hangers and a 2,000t oiled Landing Strip we didn't dream then that just a few years later this airport would be the nation's largest base for the manufacturer of fighting aircraft for World War II after the war civilian Aviation came back into its own again the airlines switched over to four engine planes and in 1946 we built a new terminal to accommodate them it was supposed to be temporary but we stayed there for 15
years during that time however we were constantly expanding buying more land extending the runway system and making various other improvements by 1958 construction was well underway on our new jet age terminal this Mammoth project involved such tremendous tasks as scooping out over 1 and a/4 million cubic yards of dirt for the parking lot and ticketing buildings lay 67 Mi of underground pipelines for fuel water electricity sewers and drainage mixing and pouring 430,000 sacks of cement and erecting nearly 7,000 tons of structural steel in June 1961 the new jet age terminal was dedicated by vice president
Lyndon Johnson just the other day during an inspection tour I saw something that really summed up the advances we've made during the past 30 odd years one of the airlines was making publicity pictures of their first plane which they flew in 1926 parked alongside a modern jet quite a contrast and the contrast is even more apparent when you take a helicopter ride as I do occasionally around this 3,000 acre Airport [Music] spaced at intervals around worldway are six separate air terminals with space for a 7th at some future date through these terminals flow more than
20,000 passengers each day in the center of the terminal complex is the graceful theme structure surrounded by the 5,000 car parking area the international terminal is headquarters for All Foreign air traffic and includes complete customs and immigration fac facilities huge maintenance hangers for the servicing of jet aircraft are located to the west and to the east of the passenger terminals along the South Boundary is North American Aviation one of the nation's foremost aircraft and missile manufacturers buy subv Boulevard is completely straddled by our two main runways the longest of which stretches out to a distance
of 12,000 ft the responsibility for the design construction and operation of Los Angeles International Airport is vested in the department of airports which is a branch of our city government a board of airport Commissioners appointed by the mayor meets regularly with the staff to give expert guidance on all plans and policies thus through wise management we not only have one of the finest airports in the world from an operational standpoint but it is also self-supporting dominating the entrance to the new terminal is the combined administration building and control tower which is one of the tallest
in the world the impressive Court of flags in front of the building emphasizes the international importance of our [Music] airport in its Center is the Perpetual flame of Freedom symbolizing cooperation and understanding in the age of flight [Music] from the center of the terminal area the graceful parabolic arches of the theme building soar to a height of 135 ft a Skyhigh restaurant is nestled Among The Arches and above it is an 80t high observation deck from this vantage point you get an excellent idea of the terminal layout the convenient parking facilities in the central area
the closely adjacent ticketing buildings and their tunnel connected satellites each capable of serving 10 jet transports simultaneously one of the boldest decisions of our planning committee was to excavate a 5,000 car parking lot one full story below field level it is the world's largest airport parking facility and can be tripled in size by adding extra decks when necessary traffic moves around worldway in a counterclockwise Direction pulling out of the mainstream to stop in front of the ticketing buildings here passengers are able to deposit their baggage mostly right at the curb and have their tickets checked
before proceeding leisurely out to their satellite loading gate one Airline features a completely automated check-in system system which is a Marvel of speed and Ingenuity each bag's destination is coated magnetically and is carried down through the floor to an elaborate conveyor system the magnetic code on the baggage carrier acts as an automatic switching device which sorts out the bags for each flight and delivers them to the proper station for loading aboard the aircraft meantime the passengers are strolling or riding through the underground Channel which connects each ticketing building to its respective satellite separate baggage channels
are also located behind the walls on either side passengers are carried up to the lobby level by escalator or if they prefer they can use the elevator the spacious public lck with its impressive ceiling and Grecian style columns contains many ingenious Innovations such as do-it-yourself information boards 601 to Mexico City will depart on time from gate 51 flight information automatically posted and kept up to date by remote control flight 100 Royal Ambassador service for New York and a nursery for the tiny traveler designed with Mother's needs in mind mind including a cheerful well-trained attendant one
of the earliest decisions of our planning staff was that the new terminal must aim to provide the finest restaurant facilities in the nation seven major restaurants serve about 20,000 meals a day all of which are carefully prepared in the central commissary one of the largest operations of its kind in the country [Music] the prepared food is divided into portions and placed in special carriers which are delivered by truck to the various restaurants where the final cooking and serving operation takes place another modern feature of our airport is our fueling system a 36m network of underground
pipelines which eliminates the hazards and delays caused by moving aviation fuel around in tank [Music] trucks a number of our satellites are equipped with covered loading Bridges which Shield the passengers from the weather during boarding and deplaning operations morning is a busy time with us as dozens of big jets pull away from the loading Gates and taxi out for takeoff to major cities on all over the country and in foreign lands as well [Music] simultaneously the carriers engaged in local and Regional operations add their hundreds of passengers to the traffic stream but whatever their origin
or destination every inbound and outbound flight is always under positive control by the Federal Aviation agency both in the tower cab and in the radar room directly below approach control of inbound aircraft starts about M out from the airport at this point every aircraft in the control area is clearly visible on the radar Scopes in the tower's radar room as the aircraft enters the control area one of the arrival controllers is assigned to the flight and directs the approach and Landing operation at the same time the flight data Man Records The Landing sequence on flight
strips in the cockpit of the approaching airliner the pilot receives his instructions from the arrival controller changing direction and altitude is required until he's given his Landing clearance at this point he is turned over to the local controller who directs the final Landing sequence from the tower cab simultaneously The Landing is monitored by Precision approach radar which follows the foot by foot Descent of the aircraft until it touches down in the runway as soon as the air craft leaves the runway the ground controller takes over dated by the ground surveillance radar he guides the aircraft
along the taxiways until it reaches its assigned birth at the satellite there's something Majestic about the arrival of a jetliner as it swings slowly into position at the unloading gate but then as the passengers leave the aircraft the pace quickens and becomes a kind of race between the passengers and their baggage to see which will be the the first to reach the claiming area at our airport thanks to the speed and efficiency of our baggage handling systems it usually ends in a dead heat arriving passengers can board limousines or taxis right at the curb or
they can arrange for a driveyour yourself car through one of several services available all told there are about a thousand udrive cars checked in and out of the airport daily at Los Angeles International we have one of the nation's finest scheduled helicopter Services the big twin jet helicopter serve about 25 communities in the area cutting to a fraction the time required to speed passengers and mail to and from the airport we also have a helicopter taxi surface which will take you just about anywhere you want to go for instance you can leave the airport flying
high above the busy traffic below and 8 minutes later settle down on the roof of your Downtown hotel talk about your flying carpets this has the old Arabia nights Tales cheated a mile the upkeep and maintenance of a big airport is a complex operation requiring a lot of specialized equipment and a lot of skilled Manpower as well our many miles of roads and streets and 285 Acres of runways and taxiways require a maintenance crew as large as you'd find in a good-sized city our jet age terminal uses enough electricity to supply a city of 40,000
people and we have a mighty good crew to keep our electrical systems in first class operating [Music] shape special machines and equipment have been devised by our Buildings Department to ease the task of building maintenance including a floor cleaning machine that washes as much as 15,000 ftph the central utilities building furnishes heating and air conditioning to the entire terminal area enough to supply a community of about 1,000 homes keeping our public areas litter-free is a constant and never ending task and so is the job of maintaining our Lawns and Gardens we're especially proud of our
highly trained security staff and our core of uniformed airport guides who conduct our guided tours all together we have a team of nearly 500 people dedicated to making this the best run airport in the world many of our visitors are astonished to find that Air Freight is the fastest growing segment of the Air transport industry over a 10-year period our figures show that Air Freight poundage increased 465 while the number of passengers increased about 400% air express which specializes in smaller shipments and fast door-to-door delivery increased about 190% and air mail and air parcel post
increased about 250% of the same 10-year period period the volume and variety of Air Cargo that moves through our warehouses is astonishing everything from zippers to metal castings hobby horses haunted houses and candy at least that's what it says on the box there are 11 International carriers offering flights from Los Angeles to cities all over the world these flights are concentrated at Satellite 2 which is specially designed and Equip to serve the needs of foreign air travelers all directional signs are in four languages and most Airline personnel and many restaurant and gift shop employees speak
at least one foreign language as a result we believe we can offer a warm welcome to foreign Nationals of any age and of course the same holds true of the thousands of Americans who pass through our International Terminal each [Music] year the facilities provided at the international terminal for inbound flights are the result of much thought and careful study arriving passengers are usually loaded down with gift items purchased abroad and their one idea is to clear through the various government inspections as soon as possible through the cooperation of US Customs immigration public health and agriculture
we've been able to provide one of the finest international arrival facilities in the nation with the latest type of equipment and ample Personnel to process inbound flights quickly and efficiently at any time of day or night perhaps that has something to do with the Joyful Way in which arriving passengers greet their friends at the exit gate at least we like to think so [Music] each day more than 33,000 people stream back and forth to work within the Los Angeles International Airport complex and they earn about $4 million a week about1 18,000 of these are employed
in the Aerospace industry many thousands of Highly skilled people work for the Airlines and a variety of occupations including about 1,600 flight crew personnel and, stewardesses actually based here office and ground operations people number about 500 and in the hanger areas there are over 1,500 expert mechanics who work on the aircraft and on the engines instruments and the various auxiliary systems to keep them in perfect operating condition and after their work is finished eagle-eyed inspectors double check each operation before it is certified ready for flight there are over a thousand men and women employed on
the ramps and theirs is the important responsibility of getting the airplanes in and out on time about 460 people work in the airline flight kitchens and there are nearly 600 Passenger [Music] agents practically all of the other public services at the airport are operated by concessionaires who hire and train their own people however the airport staff closely monitors their activities to make sure that they render a superior standard of service various government departments are also represented on the airport the US weather bureau the Federal Aviation agency the post office department and the Customs Health immigration
and agriculture Services the impact of all of these airport activities has had a remarkable effect on the growth of the surrounding area where hotels factories and Office Buildings are constantly being built providing new jobs and new prosperity to a large segment of our population not to be overlooked in our operations is the importance of general aviation and for that story we turn to Van n airport which is also owned by the city of Los Angeles and administered by the department of airports vanai is about about 30 minutes by freeway from Los Angeles International leads the
nation in business and private aircraft activity it is also headquarters for the 146th Air transport wing of the California Air National Guard a topr rated outfit which has proved its Readiness to meet any emergency and the missiles and space division of lock aircraft which is turning out some of our most potent strategic weapons very few of our citizens have any idea of where the money comes from to build and operate a gigantic Enterprise such as Los Angeles International Airport in the first place the Federal Government contribut substantial sums to help build such permanent facilities as
runways taxiways and AIDS to navigation in our case about $12 million to date however federal aid does not extend to the cost of building terminal facilities that's our responsibility all of our major construction at the new terminal has been financed by a bond issue which is repaid out of airport revenues at no cost of the taxpayer oddly enough only a little better than 50% of these revenues comes from Aviation sources the airlines being the principal contributors in rentals for all of the space they occupy and Landing fees which are directly proportionate to to the size
and scope of each airline's [Music] operations all together we have nearly 200 tenants on the airport and we try not to overlook any needed services or Revenue sources we even lease out a sand mining operation which brings in a tidy sum and we also have several tenant farmers who seldom even look up when the Jets go whistling by overhead among our non-aviation revenues parking brings in the biggest sum as many as 15,000 cars check through our parking Gates on a peak day the service station operation is another excellent concession which helps to swell our [Music]
revenues and so are the fees we receive from the various operators of public transportation in and out of the airport area inside the terminal buildings there are other Revenue sources too some of them are quite small in themselves but others such as the restaurants and the theme building and satellites and the gift shops are a big factor in helping to balance our operating [Music] budget 400 p.m. that's when things begin to speed up around here as I mentioned earlier this airport has a rhythm to it and between 4: and 8:00 p.m. we reach the peak
of our activity for the day actually about 25% of all of our air carrier movements takes place in this 4-Hour period and that means that a lot of passengers and a lot of visitors must be served with efficiency and courtesy all along the line for instance something like 3500 inflight meals will be prepared and packed in their insulated containers for placing aboard departing aircraft and in the Skyhigh restaurant at top the theme building diners will be gathering to enjoy a leisurely meal while they watch the tremendous spectacle of sunset time at the airport which I
call The Greatest Show on Earth [Music] for more than a third of a century now I've watched this airport grow from its humble beginning back in 1928 to the Magnificent International Air Terminal we have here today and I know in my own mind that long after I have retired from the scene this airport will continue to grow and serve the public public in ways we haven't dreamed of here at number one worldway [Music] [Music]
