LAX Police Trained To Make 'NICE' For Thanksgiving Holiday Rush

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — If you're flying out of town for Thanksgiving weekend, you can expect a little more holiday cheer from police officers at the airport.

KNX 1070's Ed Mertz reports LAX is training its traffic officers to "Neutralize Irritations Customers Experience" — or NICE — to help keep traffic moving in a customer-friendly manner.

"It can be a challenging time for the passengers and customers, they're under stress, they're trying to get to where they're going to go," said LAX police captain Greg Staar. "We just ask they take a deep breath and kind of slow down a little bit, get here early."

With more than 160,000 travelers expected to make their way through the airport over the next five days, traffic control officers have pledged to control their tempers during the busy travel periods.

Among the biggest complaints from both staff and travelers alike: drivers who want to wait in the white loading zones.

"They need to come to the curb, drop off their people, expedite their dropping off and then move in," said Staar.

But even that comes with a holiday twist: traffic officers are instructed to greet drivers first before using a pleasant tone to tell them to move on.

While airport staff and volunteers participated in the training session, no Transportation Security Agency personnel were present.