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LAX is expecting some 3 million air passengers this holiday season
LAX is hardly lax.
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(Photo by Matthew Dillon via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
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The estimates are in.
The Transportation Security Administration is expecting more than 40 million people will fly to their holiday destinations between Dec. 19 and Jan. 2 — a 6.2 percent increase from last year, according to the ageny.
Train, bus, automobile
AAA is projecting that 107 million Americans will drive to their destinations this holiday season — up 2.5 million from last year.
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It's estimating that 4.47 million people will travel by bus, train, or cruise — up 10 percent from last year.
LAX
We save the most important estimates for last — for obvious reasons.
At LAX, they're estimating that some 3 million people will fly in and out of the airport from now until Jan. 2, according to Justin Upshaw, a public information officer at LAX.
Holiday air travel this year is expected to surpass pre-COVID highs. And that's not all, said Upshaw. " The period of travel is actually becoming longer. We saw that with Thanksgiving, where people aren't waiting until Friday afternoon to fly out there, they're leaving midweek and coming back on a Monday or Tuesday."
Upshaw said LAX has devoted more resources for the bump in traffic — both for cars and flyers.
"That means seeing traffic officers from DOT helping to keep the intersections moving at Century and Sepulveda, and additional staff in the terminals," Upshaw said.
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Still, he said the usual reminders apply for those flying during the holidays, particularly:
- Give yourself plenty of time to get to and from the airport
- Check in online and checking the status of your flight before you get to the airport
- Prebook parking by going to flylax.com and click on the relevant tab, because Upshaw said the airport's parking garages do reach capacity during this time of the year.
We have an entire guide on how to navigate the peak intensity of LAX during busy seasons. It's right here.
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