Long Beach International Airport

Long Beach Airport is a secondary airport serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area, handling roughly 3 million passengers annually — a figure constrained far below demand by one of the most restrictive airport noise ordinances in the United States. The Long Beach Noise Compatibility Ordinance, adopted in 1995 and upheld by federal courts, caps commercial air-carrier flights at 53 daily slots, limits operating hours (curfew from 22:00 to 07:00 for slot-restricted flights), and imposes per-flight noise-based fines. The ordinance has made LGB one of the most politically distinctive airports in the country, with city residents' strong preference for quiet flight operations driving chronic tension with commercial carriers seeking to grow. LGB is a focus city for Southwest Airlines, which operates roughly 35 daily departures and took over most of JetBlue's former slots when JetBlue withdrew from Long Beach in 2020 after a decade as the airport's dominant carrier. Delta Air Lines, and several small commuter operators round out scheduled service, with nonstop routes concentrated to Phoenix, Dallas, Denver, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City. Hawaiian previously operated long-range A321neo service to Honolulu from LGB. Four runways, with the longest (12/30) at 10,003 ft (3,049 m), support a diverse mix of commercial, general aviation, and business jet operations; LGB has long been one of the highest-volume general aviation airports in the US. The airport is also the site of major Boeing (formerly Douglas) and Gulfstream assembly facilities, giving LGB a significant aerospace-manufacturing heritage. The Art Deco terminal, opened in 1941, is a registered historic landmark and was carefully preserved through a 2012 terminal expansion that added modern security, concessions, and jet bridge facilities outdoors in a California-climate open-air concourse design.