LAX is expected to set record for Thanksgiving travelers
Thanksgiving travelers wait to check in at Terminal 1 at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 23, 2011. The airport expects to set a new passenger record during this year’s Thanksgiving travel period.
If you hope to have a quiet, leasurely travel experience for the Thanksgiving holiday, steer clear of Los Angeles International Airport.
LAX is expected to be the nation’s busiest airport, with a record 2.1 million passengers flying in and out of the facility from Nov. 20 to 30, according to the annual estimate by airport officials. That would surpass the record of 1.96 million passengers during last year’s holiday travel period.
On Friday, Nov. 20, Saturday, Nov. 21, and Sunday, Nov. 29, an estimated 205,000 passengers are expected to fly through LAX each day, according to airport estimates. The busiest day of the holiday period should be Monday, Nov. 30, when an estimated 219,000 passengers will fly through the airport.
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The slowest days are expected to be Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday, with 147,000 and 170,000 passengers, respectively. The average daily passenger volume at LAX is 193,000
“As more people choose to work, visit, study and play in Los Angeles, LAX keeps on breaking records,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a news conference at the airport Tuesday. “L.A. is a world-class destination for visitors from around the globe, and this is great news for our local economy.”
Because of the expected increase in travelers, the airport has imposed a construction moratorium during the Thanksgiving holiday period to help foot and car traffic flow faster.
To read more about travel, tourism and the airline industry, follow me on Twitter at @hugomartin.
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