LAX Skylink Delayed to February as City Agencies Clash Over Power Deal

Los Angeles International Airport's Skylink people mover will not carry passengers until at least Feb. 5, one month later than its most recent target, according to contractor LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS). The delay stems from unsigned agreements between two city agencies and a string of technical faults, including four arc blasts that damaged the train's power rail during testing.

The 2.25-mile automated train, part of a $3.3 billion project, is now $1.4 billion over budget and running nearly four years behind its originally scheduled 2023 opening. It remains a cornerstone of LAX's modernization plan ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

What is blocking the opening?

LINXS, a public-private partnership that includes Fluor, Balfour Beatty, ACS Infrastructure Development, Dragados USA and HNTB, blames two intertwined problems: unsigned solar power agreements and unresolved technical issues.

The dispute centers on who signs a connectivity agreement with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) for a solar array on the roof of the train's Maintenance and Storage Facility. The airport has promoted the system as proof of its renewable energy commitment, saying in past releases that it would supply 40% of the facility's energy needs and 7% of the overall people mover's power requirements.

LINXS argues in a disclosure filing that Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the airport operator and landowner, must sign the agreement with its sister department. LAWA has declined. A separate report to lenders said the airport moved to revise the project's scope so the solar system would no longer be a prerequisite for opening. City airport and DWP officials declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

LINXS' latest monthly progress report warned the delay "will continue to increase on a day-for-day basis" until DWP and LAWA reach agreement on solar power use.

What does this change for the airport?

Greg Pierce, a UCLA associate professor of urban planning, called the situation unconventional for what is otherwise a routine type of agreement. Whoever signs could face liability over under- or over-delivering energy, he said, or over integrating solar into the train's wider power system.

The litigation has grown tangled. LINXS sued the city over the summer; the complaint claims DWP caused a 141-day power outage in 2025 and that LAWA blamed LINXS "even though LAWA knew that it and LADWP were responsible." A separate grand jury report found the contractor, not the airport, largely responsible for delays, while also questioning outside consultants on the original contract.

Technical problems persist alongside the legal fight. An Oct. 8 report to lenders from an outside advisor documented four arc blasts during testing last month that damaged the train's power rail and guide beam. Testing resumed after repairs and safety checks. Before opening, the train needs 30 consecutive days without substantial issues, approvals from the airport and an independent engineer, and the signed agreements.

Conflicting signals from City Hall

LAWA has stopped offering opening goalposts and stressed it has not endorsed any date LINXS has shared. "No opening date can be confirmed until LINXS, the SkyLink contractor, completes their final testing," the agency said in an online questionnaire. In a social media video published Friday, the airport said it is "holding LINXS accountable for delivering Skylink safely and reliably."

The airport also published a fact-versus-myth questionnaire and warned about AI-manipulated photos and videos of the train circulating online.

Mayor Karen Bass told KNX News this week she expects the train to run by January, contradicting the contractor's February estimate. Her office sidestepped a question about the discrepancy and did not respond when asked whether DWP and LAWA will sign the power agreement before opening. "Our priority now is getting this system safely and reliably into passenger service," the office said in a statement.

Ground-side consequences are already visible

Once operating, the train will link terminals with rental car and parking lots, the LAX/Metro Transit Center and a new ride-hail area intended to relieve the airport's gridlocked horseshoe roadway. The current LAX-it rideshare lot will phase out over time, though the airport gave no timeline.

Local businesses have already priced in the change. Parking operator LAZ Parking issued pre-layoff notices to employees when it expected a fall opening, then rescinded them and said it is now working to reassign affected staff.

With the Olympics under four years away, the February date depends on two city departments signing an agreement they have so far refused to negotiate in public.