Experts: LAX Will Be Nation's Busiest Airport This Thanksgiving
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Travelers who plan to fly into or out of Los Angeles International Airport will have a lot of company this Thanksgiving.
Travel experts forecast LAX will be the nation's busiest airport during the 11-day Thanksgiving holiday travel period, which begins Friday, with more than 1.97 passengers expected to pass through the airport through Dec. 1, said Nancy Suey Castles, public relations director of Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that runs LAX.
The forecast represents a 4.8 percent increase over last year's 1.82 million, which also made LAX the nation's busiest airport last year, Castles said.
The increase at LAX is attributed to more available seats as airlines serving the airport are adding flights to new cities, using larger aircraft with more seats on some existing flights, and the addition of several new international air carriers.
Passengers should expect to see busy terminals and many domestic flights 90 percent full, Castles said, while flights to destinations popular with Southern Californians – such as San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, New York City and Boston – may be fully booked.
Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 are forecast to be the busiest travel days, with both days exceeding 207,000 passengers, Castles said. Heavy passenger loads also forecast for today and Wednesday.
The travel website Orbitz predicts that LAX will be the busiest airport in the nation during the Thanksgiving holiday period for the second consecutive year.
Airport officials recommend passengers planning to depart from LAX during daily peak travel periods -- from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. -- arrive in their airline's ticketing lobbies at least two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights.
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