Exclusive LAX terminal embroiled in messy dispute with security consultant to the stars

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Set us as preferred At the exclusive terminal for the rich and the famous at Los Angeles International Airport, passengers are greeted with champagne and caviar, then whisked directly to their planes in a customized BMW.The terminal, which for a steep fee allows travelers to skip the lines and pass through security without stepping foot inside the airport, was the first of its kind in the U.S.when it opened in 2017.

Now, it’s at the center of a messy business dispute.Gavin de Becker, a security consultant for celebrities whose firm originally developed the terminal, has leveled serious accusations against the current operator.

An attorney for De Becker’s security and threat assessment firm said in a letter to airport officials that the way the operator, PS, is managing the terminal creates security risks, pointing to pending lawsuits by ex-employees.One lawsuit claims that workers loaded luggage directly onto planes without proper screening, which PS denied in a court filing.A lawsuit filed in September by De Becker’s firm accuses PS, originally known as the Private Suite, of tricking the city of Los Angeles into extending its lease before the company was sold in 2024 to Groupe ADP, a publicly traded global airport operator whose majority shareholder is the government of France.

The lawsuit seeks damages for reputational harm and lost business opportunities.Over the years, the owners of PS — now Groupe ADP and before that a private equity firm — failed to get the proper city approval for the sales, De Becker’s attorneys have alleged.PS, meanwhile, pointed to an August 2024 letter in which a Los Angeles World Airports executive said that city approval was not required.

PS said in a statement that Gavin de Becker and Associates’ lawsuit is meritless, noting that PS associates go through an eight-week course ...