What does LAX stand for? Printed on your boarding pass or glowing on a departures screen, LAX is the three letter code for Los Angeles International Airport, the main airport for the Los Angeles area in Southern California. The code is so familiar that many people use it as the airport's everyday name: "I'm flying out of LAX."
The X does not stand for a word. It was added to fill out the code when airports moved from two letter to three letter identifiers. Outside travel, lowercase "lax" is also a regular English word meaning loose or careless, and sports fans use it as a nickname for lacrosse.
Quick facts
Stands for
Los Angeles International AirportType
IATA airport codeHow to say it
"el ay ex" or "lacks"What the X means
Nothing, it is a filler letterPilot code
KLAX (ICAO)Other meanings
Lacrosse (sports slang), the word lax (loose)
Why does LAX end in X?
In the early days of commercial flying, many US airports used two letter codes taken from weather station names, and Los Angeles was simply LA. As air travel grew, a three letter system became the standard so there would be enough unique codes for every airport. Los Angeles kept its two familiar letters and added an X at the end.
| Letter | Comes from |
|---|---|
| L | Los |
| A | Angeles |
| X | Filler, added to make three letters |
A few other older airports picked up a filler X the same way, which is why codes like PDX for Portland, Oregon, and PHX for Phoenix exist. So if someone tells you the X stands for "international" or "express," that is a guess, not the real history.
What does LAX stand for on a ticket or bag tag?
On travel documents the code always means the Los Angeles airport. Airline systems, baggage tags and booking sites use the three letters so that machines and staff around the world read the same thing.
A boarding pass: "From BNA To LAX, Gate B7, Boards 6:40 PM." You are flying from Nashville to Los Angeles International. The code tells you the destination airport, not only the city, which matters because the Los Angeles area has several airports.
Pilots and air traffic controllers use a four letter version, KLAX, from a separate system. The K marks airports in the lower 48 states. Read more about these systems on our country, city and airport codes page, or see the code for Tennessee's capital at BNA.
About the airport
- Location: on the Pacific coast, southwest of downtown Los Angeles, in California. For the state's short forms, see California abbreviation.
- Size: one of the busiest passenger airports in the United States and a major gateway for flights across the Pacific.
- Layout: several terminals arranged in a horseshoe around a central loop road.
- Landmark: the curved, space age Theme Building near the center of the airport is a well known sight.
- Opened: the site began as a small airfield in the late 1920s.
How to say LAX
Both pronunciations are common. Many travelers spell it out, "el ay ex." Locals and airline staff also say it like the word "lacks." Either is understood. When you spell it out, use "an" in writing, as in "an LAX shuttle," because the letter L begins with a vowel sound. When you say it as a word, "a LAX shuttle" fits better. Most writers just avoid the article: "the shuttle to LAX." Letter sets that can be read both ways are covered in acronym vs abbreviation.
Lax in sports and everyday English
| Use | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Airport code | Los Angeles International Airport | "Our flight lands at LAX at noon." |
| Sports slang | Lacrosse | "She has lax practice after school." |
| Regular word | Loose, not strict | "Security at the old office was lax." |
| Medicine (lowercase) | Looser than normal | "The exam showed lax ligaments in the knee." |
The lacrosse nickname comes from shortening the sport's name, and players often write it in lowercase. The adjective lax is an old English word with no link at all to the airport.
Quick tips for reading airport codes
- Codes name airports, not cities. LAX is one of several airports in the Los Angeles region.
- An X at the end often means a filler letter, not a word.
- Many codes match the city, like MIA for Miami, but some come from old airport names.
- Double check the code when you book, since similar letters can belong to airports far apart.
Questions people ask
What does the X in LAX mean?
It does not mean anything. Los Angeles used the two letter code LA, and an X was added when airports switched to three letter codes.
Is LAX the only airport in Los Angeles?
No. The region has several other commercial airports, each with its own code. LAX is the largest.
How do you pronounce LAX?
People say "el ay ex" or "lacks." Both are common and both are understood.
What does lax mean in lacrosse?
It is a short nickname for the sport itself. A "lax bro" or "lax team" simply refers to lacrosse players.
What is the difference between LAX and KLAX?
LAX is the code used on tickets and bags. KLAX is the four letter code used by pilots and air traffic control for the same airport.