Labor Day travel crunch begins; LAX anticipates strong passenger numbers
The Labor Day Weekend travel crunch began Thursday on local freeways and at Los Angeles International Airport.
According to LAX, 102,000 people are expected to pass through security checkpoints Thursday, with about 86,000 vehicles descending on the airport.
Airport officials predict the weekend to be the busiest Labor Day weekend since 2020, with 456,000 total departing passengers between Thursday and Monday.
On Friday, 103,000 passengers are anticipated to depart along with 92,000 vehicles heading to LAX. Saturday and Sunday will be a bit slower before ramping back up on Monday.
According to the Automobile Club of Southern California, 32% of Americans are set to travel over the long weekend, 82% of which are expected to travel by car.
The top destinations for SoCal residents are expected to be Las Vegas, San Diego, Orlando, Alaska, Fort Lauderdale, Nashville, Hawaii and Europe.