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More People Are Flying In And Out Of LAX This Month, Despite CA Travel Advisory

A traveler wears a face mask while checking their phone on the arrivals level outside the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP)

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Los Angeles International Airport has seen a noticeable increase in travelers over the last two weeks.

In February, passenger traffic was about 30% of what it was last year. But in March, that stat increased has increased to about 44%.

Heath Montgomery with LAX says that translates to about 35,000 people going through TSA checkpoints each day. And airport officials expect those numbers to keep climbing:

"We know the airlines have added additional flight capacity for the spring and for the summer. And I think generally the expectation around the country is that as you see a lot of those [state and county] restrictions begin to relax, and more people having access to vaccinations, we will see a pretty steady return to air travel through the rest of this year."

LAX officials are reminding travelers that they're still required to
self-quarantine for 10 days once they return to California, if they've traveled out of state...although there's no enforcement plan for that policy (you can read more about how all this is supposed to work here).

The city of L.A. also requires everyone to fill out a travel form when they land at LAX.

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There is also still a statewide travel advisory in effect asking Californians to avoid non-essential travel and stay within 120 miles of their homes. Again, whether or not people are following that advisory? Unclear.

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