Team LAWA, 

Thank you all very much for your efforts today to help implement our new telework policies. I realize that this all is happening very fast and that it may be a difficult or confusing process for some of you. So I very much appreciate your patience, understanding and cooperation as we work our way through this. Please remember that the main intention of our telework policy is to allow all those who are able to work from home do so as soon as possible in order to enable better social distancing and help reduce the spread of COVID-19. As such, we wanted to put these policies in place as soon as we could and adjust as necessary. Our IT department is working diligently to ensure that everyone who is teleworking has the necessary tools to do their jobs, as well as supporting those who still are working onsite at one of our airports or in our administrative buildings. 

As I wrote in my message earlier today, telework does mean that you are expected to continue to perform your work functions, so those who are working from home are required to: submit paperwork to be approved for telework (download form); work with your supervisor to determine your work plan; be available to your supervisor and team; and provide daily updates on your work. Also, if you have not already done so, you must fill out this self-certification safety checklist (download form) and submit it to your supervisor for approval. Finally, we ask that you also complete this survey for IT (survey link) if you have not already done so. This is a very fluid time, so please reach out to your supervisor with any questions regarding our telework policy. If your supervisors do not have answers to your questions, they will work to get an answer and get back to you. 

For those who are needed to work on-site, thank you again for your dedication and support to keeping the critical functions provided by our airports available to our guests. It is very much appreciated. Please remember while you are on-site to follow all public health guidelines regarding hygiene and social distancing. 

From an industry standpoint, we continue to see further flight cancellations and reduced load factors on those airplanes that are flying. Yesterday we had more than 57% fewer passengers depart from LAX compared to the same day last year, which is just about at the national average of 56%. This significant reduction in passengers is not only creating financial issues for the airlines, but also for the concessioners and other business at the airport who depend on those passengers coming through our airports. This ultimately impacts our LAWA finances significantly as well. To help address the financial impacts, this week we kicked-off two separate LAWA-initiated Task Forces with the airlines and concessioners at LAX to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on their businesses and to begin collaboration to find ways to work together to address them. Further Task Forces with other partner groups also are planned with the same objectives. 

Finally, I wanted to let you know that we will be holding a special meeting of the Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) tomorrow. Our Board President Sean Burton will provide a public statement on the work that we’re doing at LAWA to address COVID-19. The BOAC then will break into a closed session to discuss the financial impacts of COVID-19 to LAWA and its partners and potential opportunities for LAWA and its partners to work together to help us all get through this unprecedented situation. The Commissioners will be participating in the meeting remotely so that we comply with public health guidelines against in-person meetings and gatherings. You can find the BOAC meeting agenda and view the open session portion of the meeting online here. 

Thank you again for your continued commitment to reducing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting not just yourselves, but our families, community and healthcare system. Thank you also for your continued hard work and dedication to keeping our airports operational during this challenging period. If you have questions about any of our policies, please ask your supervisor and they will work to provide answers. We do not know exactly what tomorrow will bring, but we do know that we will continue to adapt to new guidelines, prepare for the impacts of this pandemic on our operations and finances, and plan for a time when we return to more normal operations. 

Justin Erbacci 
Interim CEO, LAWA