City committee approves changes to LAX concession contracts, lifts most 18% price cap

A Los Angeles City trade committee voted to approve a Board of Airport Commissioners report tied to board resolution 28084 that amends in-terminal concession agreements at Los Angeles International Airport and adopts standard operating procedures, including a categorical CEQA exemption.

The action, approved on a 2-0 voice roll call with Councilmember Rodriguez absent, removes most of the long-standing 18% "above street" price cap for airport concessionaires and places a new set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) under Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) administration so the executive director can make routine pricing and operational changes without returning each time to the board and City Council.

The committee said the change is intended to help concessionaires — particularly participants in the airport's Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) program — cope with sharply reduced passenger traffic and rising operating costs since the pandemic. Denise Sample, a LAWA representative, told the committee the amendments are a…