12 vintage photos that show the chaos of airports as 'the golden age' of air travel came to an end

John Brian King

During air travel's "golden age," passengers flew in style — sitting in large, comfortable seats, eating gourmet food, and drinking custom cocktails while they relaxed on the way to their final destination. 

All of that changed with the passing of the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978. Carriers were finally free to choose their own routes and set competitive ticket prices. It was the last nail in the coffin of air travel's "golden age," flooding airports with a record-breaking number of passengers.

As air travel suddenly became more affordable and accessible to the common man, photographer and director John Brian King was living near Los Angeles International Airport and experimenting with documentary photography. He captured the airport's arriving passengers in the early '80s, which he has compiled in a new book, LAX: Photographs of Los Angeles 1980-84.

King was drawn to the chaos that airports naturally create. "People are in an unusual state [at the airport]. They have just woken up after flying for ten hours, lost their luggage, or are waiting for a loved one. I enjoyed photographing people in this state against a backdrop of government-architectural dystopia, which was LAX in the early 1980s," he told Business Insider. 

Airline deregulation led to the creation of a "hub-and-spoke system" which aimed to maximize aircraft use and increase the passenger load for each flight. Commercial airlines designated certain major airports as their "hub," making them a connection point to lesser-frequented airports known as the "spokes." Today, LAX is a hub for five airlines: American, United, Alaska Airlines, Great Lakes Airlines, and Virgin America.

During the decade that followed, oil prices dropped by 60%, and ticket prices dropped — both of which led to more travelers choosing to fly rather than drive to their destinations.

In 1980, LAX accommodated 74% of the passenger traffic that arrived in southern California on domestic flights. There were competing airports in Burbank, San Diego, and Orange County.