There’s a new deadline for the LAX People Mover and passengers will not be able to benefit from it until at least January 2027.

The latest LAX People Mover target launch is January 2027

The LAX People Mover will take passengers landside between the nine terminals at LAX (Terminals 1-8 plus Tom Bradley International Terminal) and offsite to the nearest metro station and the rental car facility. The purpose isn’t to transport passengers airside. All terminals have connections airside via walkways. Rather, the intent is to transport passengers to and from the airport.

Well, news is now out that the $3.3 billion LAX People Mover project is now delayed until January 2027. A revised date of January 6, 2027 has been quoted to the LA Times, but cautions that the date could be pushed out further.

This date is based on the completion of the project by December 8, 2026. After this time, there needs to be a series of tests and independent approvals for a span of 30 days. Approvals include those by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

How serious is the deadline? If the December 8 deadline isn’t met, LAWA could dump the contractor (LAX Integrated Express Solutions, or LINXS). However, if that happens, it’s unclear what becomes of the project. That said, there is still wiggle room, with LAWA agreeing potentially open to granting additional time and “no assurances” the December 8 deadline will be met.

This is the latest in a string of delays and setbacks

The LAX People Mover was started back in 2018 to be completed by 2023 at a price tag of $1.9 billion. However, a series of setbacks and hidden costs ballooned the price tag to $3.3 billion and the date kept slipping. Year after year has gone by with not much to show other than some pillars and the removal of the famous LAX sign.

Even with the completion of the LAX Metro Transit Center in June 2025, the LAX People Mover was nowhere to be seen.

The last hope was a push to complete the project in time for the FIFA World Cup in June and July 2026. However, not much news came about the status of the project. To be sure, passengers could take a free bus from LAX to get to the LAX Metro Transit Center. From there, passengers can access the rest of Los Angeles using its growing-but-not-yet-ubiquitous public transit system. But using a bus to connect to the metro system just doesn’t feel efficient.

The possible reason for the delays? LINXS could potentially default. In July 2026, Fitch Ratings downgraded LINXS to a credit rating of BB. If you’re not familiar with credit ratings, that’s “junk bond” territory, though just barely. And that credit rating is coming in despite the project being 99.6% complete.

The LAX People Mover is moving… you just can’t get on it

Perhaps the most visually frustrating part is that passengers transiting LAX can see the People Mover in field tests, as it has been doing for months. Every single time I pass through LAX, I hear people talking about it–how it represents the failure of the city or how it looks fine to use from down on the street level.

Why does it look complete? Because at a 99.6% completion, it’s practically complete. That last 0.4% can’t be that bad, can it? Well, sometimes getting all the paperwork figured out and payments secured can be a real hold-up. That certainly seems to be the case here.

And, thus, passengers will see the LAX People Mover transporting ghosts around from stop to stop for the time being. Hopefully, we won’t all be ghosts before it officially launches.

Are you looking forward to the LAX People Mover to resolve some traffic woes at the airport?