The Missing SkyLink

LAX Automated People Mover · as of Nov 14, 2026

$1.4 billion over.1,049 days late.Nobody answers for it.

The contractor blames the city. The city blames the contractor. The referee's rulings are buried in bond filings, and the city skipped his last hearing.18, 19

24 days to the Dec. 8 deadline. Fitch expects LINXS to miss it.8, 16

Email your councilmember · 2 minutes

Promised opening dates

  • 2023missed1
  • Jan. 2026missed22
  • June 2026 (Fitch estimate)missed5
  • Oct. 2026missed25
  • Jan. 6, 2027dropped23
  • Feb. 5, 2027current10

Days late are counted from Dec. 31, 2023, the last day of the promised year.

The short version

  • 2018: LINXS wins with the lowest-cost proposal: $1.95 billion to design and build.1, 2
  • Since then: the city has approved about $880 million in extras. Estimated cost now: about $3.34 billion.14, 15
  • 2024: the city pays $550 million more, closes 80+ claims and resets the opening to January 2026. Every date set since has slipped.17
  • 2026: LINXS sues the city in July. Fitch cuts the bonds to B- in November.6, 8

Email your councilmember

Two minutes. We draft it, you send it from your own email.

1Who you are

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2What to ask for

3Your email

Subject: Investigate the LAX people mover before Dec. 8

Dear Councilmember [Name], I live in Council District [#]. The LAX people mover is about $1.4 billion over its original price and 1,049 days past its original 2023 opening target. The contractor and the airport blame each other, and the public can’t see who is right. I’m asking you to: • Call for an independent investigation of the delays, the $880 million in settlements and change orders, and the dispute rulings. • Make LAWA publish every Project Neutral ruling and say who chose him and who pays him. • Oppose any new deadline or payment without a public hearing and a published cost. LINXS’s deadline is Dec. 8. Please tell me where you stand before then. Sincerely, [Your name]

Edit it before you send. A few sentences in your own words carry more weight than a form letter.

Each side blames the other. The referee keeps siding with the contractor.

LINXS says

the city caused the delays, then refused to follow rulings that went against it.9, 6

The city says

LINXS missed its December 2025 deadline and is losing $8.3 million a month for it, more than $85 million so far.11

The grand jury says

both: an "inadequate" dispute process written into the contract, and a contractor that held out "the threat of prolonged litigation to force" the city to agree.5, 20

Rulings made public

Rulings made public: 3 for LINXS, zero for the city.

All three are non-binding recommendations signed by the Project Neutral. They were published only in bond disclosure filings.18, 19

Documented

  • June 7, 2024: 526 days of delayThe referee found LAWA-caused delays pushed the opening date back 526 days, and that LAWA "failed to act in good faith and comply with the Contract Documents."18
  • Aug. 18, 2025: metering cabinetsThe referee found the cabinets were not LINXS's job and recommended 141 more days. LAWA did not attend the hearing.19
  • Aug. 18, 2025: penalty pointsThe referee recommended striking 340 penalty points LAWA had assessed, calling the move "an ill-conceived act of brinkmanship."19

LINXS also claims

  • Metering cabinetsLINXS says the city refused to follow the ruling.9
  • Solar power system disputeLINXS says the referee ruled in its favor and the city refused to comply.9 LAWA denies an $800 million legal dispute over it.11

The grand jury found the contract's dispute process "inadequate," said one person should not decide large-dollar disputes alone, and found the contract has no way to replace the referee once chosen. LAWA told the grand jury it believed the referee favored the contractor.20

One "Project Neutral" hears disputes under the contract and issues non-binding recommendations. Three have been made public, all for LINXS, including 526 days of delay pinned on the city.18, 19

Either the city caused years of delay, or the contractor did, or the referee keeps getting it wrong. Any one of those calls for an investigation.

Questions the city should answer

  1. Who chose the Project Neutral, and who pays him?
  2. Why did LAWA skip the August 2025 hearing?
  3. Where are the rest of the rulings, and why were these only in bond filings?

LINXS is seven companies

LINXS isn't a firm you can call. It's a company set up for this one project, owned by five firms, and two more helped design and build it. The contract has them running the train for about 25 years after it opens.2, 12

As of Nov. 14, 2026, LINXS's own website is down. It reads: ‘We cannot locate the page you're looking for.’ Did nobody renew it, or did somebody not want it up?

Together they put in $103 million of their own money, 7% of what was raised.13 The city has since approved $880 million in extras.14

The seven LINXS companies, by ownership stake
CompanyOwnsBuildsRuns
Balfour BeattyLondon, UK27%30%no
FluorIrving, TexasManaging partner, per LAWA1127%30%yes
ACSMadrid, Spain18%noyes
HOCHTIEFEssen, Germany18%noyes
AlstomSaint-Ouen, France10%trains and controlsyes
FlatironDragadosMetro Atlanta, Georgia0%40%no
HDROmaha, Nebraska0%designno

No public record assigns delay days or dollars to any one company. An investigation should. FlatironDragados is owned 61.8% by ACS's Dragados and 38.2% by HOCHTIEF.21

LAWA's fact sheet also lists HNTB, a design firm, as part of the LINXS group. LINXS's own site did not.11, 12

You pay for it at the airport

No city tax money is in this. That's the airport's line.11 The bill lands on everyone who flies.

  1. 1

    LINXS raised $1.57 billion: $1.47 billion borrowed, $103 million of its own.13

    $1.2Bbonds$270Mbank loans$103Mthe companies' own money
  2. 2

    LAX pays it back for about 25 years, plus the $880 million in extras.13, 14

  3. 3

    LAX's money comes from what the airport itself earns, not city taxes.11

24 days to Dec. 8.

Email your councilmember

Sources

  1. LINXS selected for the Automated People MoverLAWA news release, 2018
  2. Balfour Beatty joint venture awarded $1.95 billionBusiness Wire, Feb. 20, 2018
  3. Balfour Beatty and Fluor close deal for $4.9bn LA people moverThe Construction Index
  4. ACS Group / HOCHTIEF achieves financial closeHOCHTIEF press release, 2018
  5. The LAX Automated People Mover is long delayed and $880M over budget. Here's what went wrongLAist, Oct. 1, 2025
  6. New lawsuit reignites battle over LAX's still-unopened people moverWestside Current
  7. LAX's people mover is delayed againLA Mag
  8. LAX people mover P3 bond ratings cut deeper into junkThe Bond Buyer, Nov. 10, 2026
  9. Builders claim airport seeks to shift delay and cost blameENR
  10. LAX people mover launch postponed againAviationPros
  11. Myth vs. Fact: LAX SkyLink Information Sheet, October 2026LAWA, current as of Nov. 3, 2026
  12. LINXS partners page, archived Mar. 8, 2026Internet Archive
  13. Financial close for Automated People Mover project at LAXInfrastructure Insight (Nossaman LLP), June 2018
  14. World Cup spotlights LA airport people mover's costly delayENR
  15. LAX people mover delays continue as World Cup crowds arriveUCLA Luskin
  16. Bondholders agree to ease key deadline for LAX people moverThe Bond Buyer, Sept. 21, 2026
  17. LAX's people mover is 96% complete. Why it will take $550 million and another year to openLAist, July 19, 2024
  18. Project Neutral Recommendations (Change Order 66; Relief Events 130, 131, 172, 191)LINXS bond disclosure (EMMA), June 7, 2024 · archived copy
  19. Project Neutral Recommendations, Relief Events 212 and 213LINXS bond disclosure (EMMA), Aug. 19, 2025
  20. 2024–2025 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Final Report, "LAX – Automated People Mover"June 30, 2025
  21. Flatiron and Dragados North America integration successfully completeACS Group news release, Jan. 17, 2025
  22. LAX train expected to begin service January 2026LAWA news release, July 18, 2024
  23. Notice regarding consent solicitationLINXS bond disclosure (EMMA), Sept. 16, 2026
  24. Board of Airport Commissioners approves $4.9B 30-year contract with LINXSLAWA news release, April 5, 2018
  25. LAX people mover faces more "technical challenges" ahead of January debutAviationPros / Los Angeles Daily News, Oct. 21, 2026
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Email your councilmember · 2 min