San Francisco, USA - LAX has won its latest battle against a group well-known to travelers at the nation's third busiest airport - Hare Krishnas.
The religious organization, famously lampooned in the 1980 comedy "Airplane," sued the city of Los Angeles in federal court after the city council passed a law that prohibited the receiving of donations at the city-owned airport.
The unanimous ruling by the California Supreme Court, written by Justice Carlos Moreno, upheld the Los Angeles ordinance barring solicitations as a reasonable security measure to protect harried passengers rushing to make travel connections Los Angeles International Airport.
California's other major airports supported Los Angeles' legal position.
The decision does not restrict the Krishnas, and other such organizations, from distributing leaflets asking for donations to be made later.
David Liberman, an attorney for the Hare Krishnas told the Los Angeles Times he thought the decision was "disgusting" and predicted that it would encourage shopping centers and other similar forums to ban soliciting.
"They finally get rid of the Hare Krishnas, which is what they wanted to do all along," Liberman said. "They just want to get rid of people who make them feel uncomfortable."