The Holidays Get Off to a Slow Start for Travelers Stalled at Lindbergh Field

Bracing for traditional out-of-town crowds and holidaytraffic, San Diegans are already contending with inclement weather that has snarled some plans for the four-day Thanksgiving weekend.

Air travelers scheduled to leave San Diego Tuesday night kicked off their holiday with a five-hour delay when Lindbergh field was socked in by fog.

Scores of stranded travelers bunked down on benches and on the carpet in Lindbergh Field’s terminals as low visibility kept flights grounded. The airfield shutdown began about 7 p.m. and ended early Wednesday morning, Alatini said.

A crush of travelers jockeyed for flights early Wednesday, causing more airport congestion, airport manager Maurice A. McDonald said.

The passengers left over from Tuesday added to one of the airport’s busiest days of the year, McDonald said. About 38,000 travelers used the airport Wednesday, he said.

Airport crowds are expected to subside this afternoon, McDonald said, but will jam Lindbergh again beginning Sunday morning.

In addition to their sheer numbers, McDonald said, holiday travelers make airports more hectic because of their inexperience as airline passengers.

“The airlines don’t like to admit this,” McDonald said Wednesday during an afternoon lull at the airport, “but you get an awful lot of amateurs during the holidays. They aren’t your professionals--the garment-bag-toting and briefcase-clutching business people. They are the family types who don’t know air travel. They get excited because they are in a foreign environment . . . and they add to the confusion.”

In an attempt to avoid problems on the county’s roads, some California Highway Patrol officers will patrol specifically for drunk or drug-impaired motorists during the four-day weekend, CHP spokesman John Marinez said.

National City police and CHP officers will staff a sobriety checkpoint in National City, checking for alcohol or drug use, and reminding motorists to wear seat belts, Marinez said.

The location of the checkpoint will be announced about two hours before the operation begins, he said.

During the four-day holiday in 1990, there were two traffic deaths in San Diego and 244 arrests for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Sixty-four people died on California’s roadways last Thanksgiving, Marinez said.

Driving may be hampered by the weather today, said Dan Atkin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. There is a 20% chance of rain in the morning. Clear skies are forecast for the afternoon.

Gusty winds today may reach 25 m.p.h., Atkin said. The Thanksgiving high is forecast at 66 degrees with lows in the 50s, Atkin said.

The weather for the rest of the weekend will be clear and cool, Atkin said. Daytime temperatures will range from the upper 60s to low 70s. The lows will be in the 50s, he said.

All city of San Diego offices, public libraries and landfills will be closed today. Meter parking will not be enforced. Regular Thursday trash collections this week will be made Friday. Recreation centers, swimming pools, fishing lakes and city-owned golf courses will be closed, except for Balboa and Torrey Pines golf courses.

The reversible express lanes on Interstate 15 will be closed today and Friday, the California Department of Transportation said. They will open Monday.

All San Diego post offices will be closed today, and there will be no regular mail delivery, U.S. Postal Service officials said. Holiday collection schedules will be observed.

Times staff writers Lisa Castiglione and Paul Chavez contributed to this story.