Southwest plans service at Panama City, Fla.

Southwest Airlines will introduce service next year at Northwest Florida International, a yet-to-be completed airport being built near Panama City, Fla. When the airport opens in May, Southwest will fly two round trips a day to each of four cities it will name later.

The airport is being built on 4,000 acres of land donated by the St. Joe Co., one of Florida's largest private real estate developers. As part of the agreement, St. Joe has agreed to reimburse Southwest if the carrier incurs losses at the airport during the first three years of service. St. Joe hopes the service will lure travelers to its resorts and vacation communities on the Florida Panhandle.

The Natural Resources Defense Council had sued to block construction of the airport, arguing that about half of the site sits on environmentally fragile wetlands.

Once the airport opens, the current Panama City-Bay County International Airport will close.

WHAT'S NEW

•The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners voted last week to award two contracts totaling $1.26 billion for its plan to renovate Los Angeles' international terminal.

The project involves upgrading the Customs area of the aging Tom Bradley International Terminal, adding nine gates on the west side that are big enough to handle jumbo jets and installing dual passenger loading bridges and concourses with larger passenger lounges. The new terminal will also feature more space for food/beverage and retail stores.

The project is part of a broader LAX development plan approved by the city council in 2004.

•London Heathrow topped a list of the five worst airports in the world, according to a survey by airport lounge program Priority Pass, which queried 14,500 travelers. Paris' Charles de Gaulle came in second, followed by LAX, Frankfurt International in Germany and Miami International. Singapore Changi was voted the best airport by Priority Pass members.