Los Angeles Airport Getting A Special Terminal So That Celebrities Can Avoid The Paparazzi And The General Masses
The Los Angeles International Airport is about to bring an end to the era of celebrities, and the rich and famous having to scamper to avoid the paparazzi as the enter or exit. Of course that means that the chances of the average person running into a celebrity at LAX and asking for autographs and selfies is about to drastically change and that’s exactly what the aim is.
On Thursday, the Board of Airport Commissioners voted unanimously and gave the green light for a VIP lounge to be built at the Los Angeles International Airport. The lounge is to act as a method to reduce the harassment of the Hollywood jet setters and other wealthy patrons who use the airport. So celebrities like Kanye West, who has had numerous run ins with the paparazzi, and little North West can avoid the stress. The plan boasts that, unlike using public terminals and taking about 2,200 steps from the street to their seats on the plane, guests who use the new terminal at LAX will only end up having to take about 60 steps during their journey to the plane.
People:North West clings to her dad Kanye West at LAX airport:Kim Kardashian's family were hit by a papa- http://t.co/uQ2rOEeeCs #glamorous
— PeopleGlamTouch (@PeopleGlamTouch) September 23, 2015
It is expected that the lounge will be ready for use in another six months and L.A. based security firm, Gavin de Becker & Associates – which has a very elite clientele, will be in charge of the project and also be responsible for the operation of the lounge once they complete building. The new VIP terminal and lounge will be built from a converted cargo facility near the southernmost section of the LAX runway.
The patrons who will have access to the private lounge will be able to have their cars pull into a secure parking area before dropping them off away from the central terminal gates, the throngs of people, and those long lines that most airports are known for. Once dropped off, their next stop will be the VIP lounge’s private suites where they can relax until it is time to board, a shuttle will drive them directly to their individual passenger gates in the main terminal. A relaxing experience before departure includes a variety of amenities such as dedicated catering as well as separate security and border checkpoints. Any of the elite 1-percenters that chooses to use the new private terminal will only have to think about incurring charges of $1,500 – $1,800 per trip.
Private celebrity airport terminal? @TMZ is going to have to shorten itself to 15 minutes a day… https://t.co/dogLJbQ58M (Via @latimes)
— Gerald Brennan ?? (@jerry_brennan) November 20, 2015
Airport officials have stated that the building of the new terminal is about more than just catering to the rich and famous. It is their aim to attract more business executives, diplomats and celebrities that usually charter private jets in their aim to avoid public harassment. The charges that would be accumulated using the International airport’s private lounge would seem minuscule when compared to the thousands of dollars chartering for privacy’s sake would incur. The new terminal is expected to bring in an additional revenue of $3.7m in the first year to the Los Angeles International Airport and $34m over the period of Gavin de Becker & Associates 10 year lease.
The New York Times reported that Sean Burton, president of the Board of Airport Commissioners, insists that ordinary travelers would absolutely benefit from the rich having their own lounge as well. In addition to reducing traffic through the airport and security by separating some of the flow, it would also lessen the chances of celebrity sighted induced violence that sometimes occurs.
“We’ve had a lot of issues of the years with paparazzi around celebrities making it difficult for other passengers. We’ve had incidents where paparazzi have knocked people over. We had one incident last year when someone in a wheelchair was knocked down.”
Depending on the actual success of the celebrity lounge project, DeBecker has said that his firm intends to introduce similar facilities in New York at JFK and perhaps Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and San Francisco.
While it would be the first of its kind to open in the United States, similar lounges exist in other countries like Amsterdam, Dubai, and London.
[Photo Courtesy of Joseph Sohm/ Shutterstock]
