LAX Expects To See 2M Travelers Over Thanksgiving Period
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – About two million travelers are expected to pass through Los Angeles International Airport during the two weeks surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday, a considerable spike compared to the same time last year, when much of the country was under pandemic lockdowns.
LAX reported Thursday that the estimated two million guests that will pass through the airport from Nov. 18-30 would constitute double the number of travelers the busy airport saw this time last year.
The busiest travel days will likely be Friday, Nov. 19 and Sunday, Nov. 28, LAX said in its news release. An estimated 175,000 people will come through on each of those days.
The airport noted a new parking feature that it hopes will make the travel process easier. Parking.FlyLAX.com allows fliers to pre-book a parking spot. They can also use the new LAX Economy Parking facility, which has a dedicated shuttle.
"LAX is ready to welcome our guests with facilities that are clean, safe and offer the latest technology to help create an exceptional Thanksgiving travel experience," said Justin Erbacci, L.A. World Airports CEO. "Higher levels of holiday travel and heavy construction at LAX to modernize our facilities will mean additional traffic and put parking at a premium. To create a smooth and lower stress experience, travelers should plan ahead, arrive early and use Parking.FlyLAX.com to pre-book their parking."
Despite that, parking spots will be limited at LAX this year, thanks to the ongoing construction, part of the Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP), a $5.5 billion program aimed to relieve congestion for people traveling via LAX.
On-site interior parking will be at a minimum, and travelers are reminded to continue checking in to find a spot. Prices for these spots average around $50 a day.
Spots at the newly-unveiled LAX Economy Parking Lot average $20 a spot. It's worth noting that some travelers at LAX in recent days have noted that it takes a while to get to the airport from this new off-site parking lot.
Rideshare options to the airport are also expected to see a drastic change, especially heading into the holidays. A seven-mile trip from Marina Del Rey will cost around $54 dollars with Uber, and more than $27 with Lyft. The same trip in 2019 cost just $16.
According to the Auto Club, this year will be the second-busiest Thanksgiving travel volume on record for the region, just 3% below the 4.5 million people who traveled for Thanksgiving in 2019.
"This is a remarkable comeback for travel, especially considering that cruises and some other modes of transportation have only recently restarted," Filomena Andre, the Auto Club's vice president for travel products and services, said in a statement. "To help meet consumer demand, AAA is hiring travel advisers. We are also strongly recommending that people not wait to book trips in 2022 because there are deals and availability that are being offered now that will go fast."
According to the AAA, the top five destinations for Southern California Thanksgiving travelers will be San Diego, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and the Santa Barbara/Central Coast.
Nationally, Anaheim is expected to be the second-most popular holiday destination for travelers, thanks to Disneyland. Anaheim will be second only to another Disney hub -- Orlando, Florida.
Nationwide, the Auto Club is predicting this Thanksgiving will be the third busiest on record, with 53.4 million travelers, trailing only behind the 56 million from 2019 and 53.7 million in 2018.
Of the 4.4 million anticipated Southern California travelers over Thanksgiving weekend, 3.8 million are expected to travel by car, while 494,000 will travel by air, and 79,000 will use some other means, such as a bus or cruise ship.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
