Travel columnist says an AI chatbot's advice to walk between Los Angeles airport terminals in 20 minutes led to a 90-minute, 3 km transfer
A solo-travel columnist writing in the Japanese magazine SPUR says that in February 2026, while connecting at Los Angeles International Airport from a US domestic flight to a flight to Haneda, the writer asked an AI chatbot how to get between terminals. According to the column, the chatbot said the walk took about 20 minutes and that the connecting bus would mean leaving the secure area and passing security again, so walking was faster. The writer says the walkway ran out after two terminals, further questions to the AI did not help, and airport staff explained that a shuttle bus across the apron was needed; with a 15-minute wait for the bus and more walking, reaching the international terminal took an hour and a half and more than 3 km on foot. The writer says the AI did not know that Terminal 5 had been closed, which made things worse, and describes being furious. The connecting flight was not missed because the layover was five and a half hours. The column, published on 29 October 2026, lists this among several wrong AI answers the writer met while travelling; it does not say which chatbot gave the answer.
- AI system
- Unidentified chatbot
- Occurred
- Feb 2026
- Reported
- 29 October 2026
- Event location
- United States
- What the AI did
- Communicated with the person
- Reported harm
- Other Material HarmPsychological Distress
- Whose AI use
- Their own AI use
- Setting
- Everyday life
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
- 5 claims: 5 reported. 2 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: An AI chatbot the columnist consulted while travelling, one of three AI services the writer says they use; the column does not say which one gave the terminal advice
What Happened
What the writer asked. The columnist, who writes SPUR's solo-travel column and says they have travelled alone more than 450 times, says they began using AI heavily for travel in 2026 and pay for one of the three services they use. In February 2026, arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on a US domestic flight and connecting to an international flight to Haneda, the writer could not remember how far apart the terminals were and asked an AI. According to the column, the answer was that the walk took about 20 minutes and that taking the inter-terminal bus would mean leaving the secure area and passing security again, so walking was quicker.
What happened. The writer says the terminals were much farther apart than the map suggested and that, after passing two terminals, the pedestrian walkway ended at boarding gates. Further questions to the AI did not resolve it; airport staff explained that the route continued by shuttle bus across the aircraft parking area, with departures every 15 to 20 minutes. After a 15-minute wait and more walking, the writer reached the international terminal an hour and a half later, having walked more than 3 km. The writer learned afterwards that Terminal 5 had been closed for rebuilding in October 2025, so the walk between Terminals 4 and 6 had been replaced by a bus, and says the AI's failure to know this made things worse.
Effect. The writer describes being furious and scolding the AI. The connection was not missed because the layover was five and a half hours.
Context. The column lists the episode among several wrong answers the writer received from AI while travelling, including a festival in Rio de Janeiro that one AI said was taking place and later called its own assumption, and a hotel booked from an AI shortlist that proved unsatisfactory. The column advises checking AI answers against airport signs and online reviews and asking more than one AI.
What is not known. The column does not name the chatbot that gave the terminal advice, quote the exchange beyond the writer's summary, or give the exact date.
Reported harm
A travel columnist says an AI chatbot's advice to walk between Los Angeles airport terminals turned a transfer into a 90-minute, 3 km trek with a shuttle wait, and describes being furious; the flight was not missed.
How Harm Occurred
An AI chatbot told a connecting passenger that walking between Los Angeles airport terminals took about 20 minutes and was faster than the bus; acting on it, the writer found the walkway cut by a closed terminal and needed 90 minutes and more than 3 km to reach the departure terminal.
Outcome
ResolvedThe writer reached the international terminal after about 90 minutes and still made the flight to Haneda, as the layover was five and a half hours. The writer describes the episode in a SPUR column published on 29 October 2026 that warns readers not to take AI answers at face value; no response from any AI provider is reported.
What remains unknown
- Which AI chatbot gave the terminal advice and its exact wording.
- The exact date in February 2026.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The columnist says an AI chatbot answered the question about moving between Los Angeles airport terminals by saying the walk took about 20 minutes and was faster than the bus, and that the writer set off on foot on that basis; the writer attributes the 90-minute, 3 km transfer partly to the AI not knowing that Terminal 5 had closed. The account is the writer's own, the chatbot is not named, and the exchange is summarised rather than shown.
5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported In February 2026, connecting at Los Angeles International Airport from a US domestic flight to a flight to Haneda, the writer asked an AI how to move between terminals; the answer was that the walk took about 20 minutes and that the inter-terminal bus would mean passing security again, so walking was faster.
Causal attribution. The writer's own account of the exchange; the AI's words are the writer's summary.
- spur.hpplus.jp(opens in new tab) supports · Japanese
'2026年2月にロサンゼルス国際空港（以下、LAX）にアメリカ国内線で到着、羽田行きの国際線に乗り継ぐ際。' '「その移動なら、徒歩でも20分程度。ターミナル間連絡バスに乗る場合は制限エリアの外に出るため、再度保安検査場を通過する必要が。その時間を考えたら、歩いたほうが早い」との回答。'
Reported After walking past two terminals the writer found the walkway ended; asking the AI again did not help, and airport staff explained that the route continued by shuttle bus across the apron, which meant a 15-minute wait.
Causal attribution. Writer's account.
- spur.hpplus.jp(opens in new tab) supports · Japanese
'結局空港スタッフに聞いて判明。なんと、その先はいきなり駐機エリアをシャトルバス移動！' 'というわけで15分間のバス待ちまで発生！'; 'ターミナルをふたつ通過した時点で、「え！？？ 徒歩用通路が、消えた！？？」'; 'AIに聞いてもラチがあかず'
Reported Reaching the international terminal took an hour and a half and more than 3 km on foot; the writer says the AI did not know Terminal 5 was closed, which made things worse, and describes being furious.
Causal attribution. Writer's account and attribution of the delay to the AI's outdated answer.
- spur.hpplus.jp(opens in new tab) supports · Japanese
'国際線ターミナルに到着したのはなんと１時間30分後！！ 歩いた距離は３km以上！' 'ターミナル５が閉鎖されていることをAIが把握していなかったということも、事態の悪化に拍車！ ひとりっP大激怒！'
Reported The writer later learned that Terminal 5 had been closed for rebuilding in October 2025, replacing the walk between Terminals 4 and 6 with a bus.
Causal attribution. Writer's statement; the closure date was not independently checked.
- spur.hpplus.jp(opens in new tab) supports · Japanese
'LAXのターミナル５は2025年10月に建て直しのため閉鎖＆取り壊しになっていたんです'
Reported The writer still made the connecting flight to Japan because the layover was five and a half hours.
Causal attribution. Writer's account; limits the harm.
- spur.hpplus.jp(opens in new tab) supports · Japanese
'（ちなみに、乗り継ぎ時間は５時間半あったので、日本帰国便には問題なく乗り継げました）'
Sources
1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- SPUR, 29 Oct 2026: solo-travel columnist lists seven trips derailed by wrong AI answers (Japanese)(opens in new tab)
s1 · spur.hpplus.jp · First person account · Japanese · Inspected · 29 October 2026 · Primary
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in Japanese by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-31 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. A first-person magazine column; the account is the writer's own and was not independently checked. Applies to s1.
Event countries: United States. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.
The column places the event at Los Angeles International Airport during a connection to Haneda. The writer's country of residence is not stated, so affected-person countries are left empty.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-31: Published as a core case (communicated_with): a travel columnist's first-person account says an AI chatbot told them walking between Los Angeles airport terminals took about 20 minutes and beat the bus, and following it took 90 minutes and more than 3 km because a terminal had closed. The connection was not missed. The account is attributed to the writer and the chatbot is unidentified.
People described
A solo-travel columnist writing in the Japanese magazine SPUR, connecting at Los Angeles International Airport; not named here.
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
One person, the columnist, who says they followed the AI's advice and spent about 90 minutes and more than 3 km reaching the international terminal.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Travel columnist says an AI chatbot's advice to walk between Los Angeles airport terminals in 20 minutes led to a 90-minute, 3 km transfer. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-los-angeles-airport-travel-columnist-says-ai-chatbot-terminal-walk-advice-led-to-90-minute-transfer
BibTeX
@misc{2026_los_angeles_airport_travel_columnist_says_ai_chatbot_terminal_walk_advice_led_to_90_minute_transfer,
title = {Travel columnist says an AI chatbot's advice to walk between Los Angeles airport terminals in 20 minutes led to a 90-minute, 3 km transfer},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-los-angeles-airport-travel-columnist-says-ai-chatbot-terminal-walk-advice-led-to-90-minute-transfer}
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