What Terminal Is American Airlines at LAX? (Updated 2026)

I drive to LAX more than any sensible person should, and since last fall the American Airlines question has quietly changed its answer. For years, the honest reply was “Terminal 4 and 5.” That’s now wrong — and a lot of the internet, including some of American’s own older pages, hasn’t caught up. So let me settle it the way I’d tell a friend before they left the house.

Quick answer: American is at Terminal 4 (plus TBIT) — Terminal 5 is closed

Since October 28, 2025, American Airlines flies out of LAX Terminal 4, with some flights using gates in the Tom Bradley International Terminal next door — that’s TBIT, signed as Terminal B. You check in at Terminal 4. Your bags come out at Terminal 4.

Terminal 5 — American’s home at LAX for years — is closed. Permanently. It shut for demolition and a full rebuild, and American consolidated everything into Terminal 4 and TBIT on that same day, per the Wikipedia rundown of LAX’s terminals. American Eagle regional flights are the one exception: they still run from a separate Regional Terminal you reach by shuttle, which I’ll get to.

So if an old itinerary, a booking site, or even an outdated airline page tells you “Terminal 5,” delete that from your memory. It’s Terminal 4 now.

What changed: Terminal 5’s closure and American’s October 28, 2025 move

LAX closed Terminal 5 to tear it down and build something new — part of the airport’s rush to be ready for the 2028 Olympics. Per reporting at the time of the closure, American was LAX’s second-largest airline by flights, and it gave up the five gates it had been using in Terminal 5, folding all of that into Terminal 4 and Tom Bradley. Demolition was slated to take about three months, with reconstruction running roughly two years toward an Olympics-ready reopening.

This wasn’t a one-airline shuffle, either. The whole west side of the airport reorganized around it — Southwest, for one, now sits over in Terminal 1 (here’s What Terminal Is Southwest at LAX). If your trip involves more than one carrier, assume the terminal you remember may have moved.

The moving day timeline: JetBlue (Oct 21) → Spirit (Oct 22) → American (Oct 28)

The airlines didn’t all move at once. Per the Wikipedia terminals overview, JetBlue shifted to Terminal 1 on October 21, Spirit went to Terminal 2 on October 22, and the big one landed October 28, when American moved into Terminal 4 and TBIT and Terminal 5 saw its last day of operation.

There’s a reason the timing worked. Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the agency that runs LAX, announced that American would “operate out of Terminal 4, beginning October 28,” and that a newly opened concourse at Tom Bradley — the Midfield Satellite Concourse South, or MSC South — helped absorb the displaced flights. Per LAWA, MSC South was delivered on time and on budget, adding over 150,000 square feet and eight gates. That extra room is a big part of why the move didn’t melt down.

American Airlines gates at LAX Terminal 4 (the full, current list)

Here’s something that surprises people: American is now the only airline in Terminal 4. It has the building to itself.

You’ll still find older guides listing just nine gates — something like 41, 42A, 42B, 43, 44, 45, 46A, 47A, and 47B. That list is stale. Per Upgraded Points, Terminal 4 picked up gates as part of the ongoing Terminal 4/5 modernization, and the current Wikipedia gate list runs to around sixteen: 40, 41, 42A, 42B, 43 through 45, 46A, 46C, 47A, 47B, 48A, 48B, 49A, and 49B. Expect the terminal to keep growing, too — LAX’s own site describes a $1.6 billion joint modernization of Terminals 4 and 5, with a unified departure hall and a new south concourse, and one summary puts the Terminal 4 construction running into 2027, with all of T4’s gates staying open the whole time.

The practical takeaway from my ramp days: don’t memorize a gate off an old booking. Assignments move by flight and by aircraft. Check the American app the morning you fly, and check it again after security.

Finding your gate after security

American’s own travel-agency FAQ, published in June 2025, predates the Terminal 5 closure — so ignore anything in it about Terminal 5 — but the directions for getting around inside Terminal 4 still hold. Here’s the gist.

Gates 41, 42A, 43: straight ahead or left off the escalator

Per that American FAQ: once you’re through the TSA checkpoint, take the escalator or stairs down. Gate 41 is straight ahead — and it’s also the way through to Terminal B (TBIT). Gates 42A and 43 are to your left. Short walk, nothing dramatic.

Gates 46B/46C, 48A–C, and the Eagle shuttle gates: through the ‘mosaic tunnel’ (10–13 min)

For the higher-numbered gates — 46B, 46C, 48A through C — and for the American Eagle shuttle gates, it’s a longer haul. Per American’s FAQ, after the checkpoint you take the escalator down, turn immediately right through the double doors, and keep going through what LAX calls the “mosaic tunnel.” Budget 10 to 13 minutes for that walk. It’s a real distance, not a brochure stroll — if you’ve got a stroller or short legs in tow, lean toward 13.

American Eagle’s separate Regional Terminal (gates 52A–52I)

American Eagle — the regional feeder flights — doesn’t leave from Terminal 4 proper. It uses LAX’s separate Regional Terminal, gates 52A through 52I, nicknamed “the Eagle’s Nest.” Per the Wikipedia terminals overview, it’s physically detached from the main terminal buildings and reachable only by a shuttle bus.

That shuttle runs from Terminal 4 (and, historically, from Terminal 5 before it closed). Where exactly you catch it depends on your source: one current guide puts the Terminal 4 shuttle stop near gate 42B, while American’s own FAQ cites a stop on Terminal 4 Level 2, just below Gate 47A. Either way, give yourself buffer — those nine regional gates are a bus ride away from the main hub, and that ride is dead time you have to plan for, especially on a connection.

Check-in and timing at Terminal 4

Check in at Terminal 4. This matters more than it sounds: there are no American check-in counters or kiosks inside TBIT, so even if your flight departs from a Tom Bradley gate, you start at Terminal 4 to drop bags and get your boarding pass. Per American’s guidance, plan to arrive at least two hours before your scheduled LAX departure.

If you’ve got status, Terminal 4 has a dedicated Flagship Check-In desk and an adjacent Priority Check-In lobby reserved for customers with Priority privileges, per American’s LAX destination page. Hours to know: the main check-in counters run roughly 3 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily, and the priority and status desks open about 4:30 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. One small thing that catches people off guard — the counters don’t take cash or checks.

Connecting through LAX on American: Terminal 4 to TBIT

Here’s the good news if you’re connecting between a domestic flight and an international one. Terminal 4 is directly connected to TBIT airside, by an above-ground walkway with moving walkways, per Upgraded Points — about a 5-to-8-minute walk end to end. Because Terminal 4 physically adjoins Tom Bradley, American’s domestic-to-international (and international-to-domestic) connections are among the shortest of any carrier pairing at LAX. That adjacency is the whole reason American runs its hub here.

Why changing terminals at LAX usually skips a second screening

You used to have to exit and get re-screened to change terminals at LAX. Not anymore. Per the Wikipedia terminals overview, by October 2023 — as part of LAX’s Landside Access Modernization Program — passengers could walk between all the main terminals without leaving the secure area. A tunnel links Terminals 4, 5, and 6, and skybridges connect Tom Bradley to Terminals 3 and 4. That’s why an American connection that changes terminals at LAX usually doesn’t require a second trip through security. If you want the full picture of how LAX’s terminals actually connect airside without a security re-screen, we mapped it out.

Minimum connection time vs. a realistic buffer for American at LAX

American files its own minimum connection times (MCTs) at LAX that are shorter than the airport’s general standard — about 35 minutes for a domestic-to-domestic connection and about 90 minutes for international-to-domestic, per Travel Vient, thanks to that Terminal 4 spot right next to TBIT.

Here’s my honest warning: a filed MCT is a floor, not a safe buffer. It’s the shortest connection the airline will legally sell you, not the one you’d choose if you’d ever run this airport at 5 p.m. Travel Vient’s experience-based padding lines up with what I’d tell family: give yourself roughly 50 to 90 minutes for a same-terminal domestic connection, 75 to 90 if you’re changing terminals (even airside), 90 minutes to 2 hours domestic-to-international, and a full 2.5 to 3 hours for anything that makes you clear customs — because customs forces you landside and back through security, no matter how airside-connected the terminals are.

If you think that’s overkill, consider the cautionary tale from One Mile at a Time: a traveler whose international arrival left just 56 minutes to clear passport control, collect bags, clear customs, and reach the domestic gate — a connection that matched what the airline had scheduled — missed the flight anyway. The paperwork said it was legal. The concourse said otherwise.

American Airlines lounges at LAX: Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge

American runs two lounges inside Terminal 4, both up on the upper level near gates 40 and 41. Per a 2026 traveler review from No Work All Travel, the Flagship Lounge sits right by gate 41 (open roughly 4:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.), with the Admirals Club directly across from it — easy to find the moment you’re upstairs.

One temporary wrinkle from the Terminal 5 rebuild: the same review notes American is also running a temporary Admirals Club near gate 151 over in TBIT while the old Terminal 5 club is closed. If your gate is on the Tom Bradley side, that’s the closer door. For the bigger picture of which lounge is worth the walk from wherever you’re sitting, we broke down LAX lounges by terminal.

Getting out of Terminal 4 and into LA

When you land, standard rideshare and taxi pickups don’t happen at the Terminal 4 curb — they route through LAX’s consolidated pickup lot, LAX-it. Per American’s FAQ, free shuttles to LAX-it leave every 5 minutes from outside baggage claim at each terminal, Terminal 4 included. Follow the posted LAX-it signage rather than standing at the curb waiting for a car that isn’t allowed to come.

And if your layover is long enough that you’re tempted to head into the city between flights, it’s worth knowing the rules first — we covered exactly that in Can You Leave the Airport During a Layover?.

FAQ: American Airlines at LAX

Is American Airlines still at Terminal 5 at LAX?

No. Terminal 5 closed permanently on October 28, 2025, for demolition and a full rebuild. American moved its LAX operation into Terminal 4 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal that same day. Any source still pointing you to Terminal 5 is out of date.

What terminal does American Eagle use at LAX?

American Eagle uses LAX’s separate Regional Terminal — gates 52A through 52I, “the Eagle’s Nest” — which is detached from the main buildings and reached only by shuttle bus from Terminal 4. Leave extra time for that ride on a connection.

How do I get from Terminal 4 to TBIT?

Walk it. Terminal 4 connects to TBIT airside via an above-ground walkway with moving walkways — about 5 to 8 minutes end to end, no second security screening required.