A suspicious U-Haul left unattended at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) last Wednesday shut down a portion of the upper level during rush hour, causing some travelers to miss flights, while others struggled to figure out what was even going on. The event went largely unreported by local news outlets but shows how an unexpected emergency can make catching a flight at LAX even more challenging than it already is.
Tony Pierce, host of the podcast Hear in LA and former L.A. Times senior editor happened to be dropping off his friends at the airport right when police responded to the scene. Pierce was stuck in moderate traffic near terminal 1 when suddenly a police vehicle with its sirens on appeared in his rearview.
After being aggressively diverted to the ramp that cuts across the airport by police officers, Pierce’s friends wisely decided to get out and walk the rest of the way. But they asked him to stay nearby just in case things took a turn for the worse.
Headed to his favorite Japanese restaurant on Sepulveda Blvd to post up and wait, Pierce’s journalistic instincts kicked in just before he left LAX, when he hopped on Twitter hoping to learn more about what was happening.
He didn’t find any updates after doing a quick search though. Instead, he sent a tweet out to his more than 5,600 followers. “Not sure what - but serious police activity at terminal 2 of LAX.” Pierce didn’t get a clear picture of what was going on until another Twitter user directed him to a thread from LAX.