Monday Expected to be Busiest Day of the Year at LAX

Nov. 27--LOS ANGELES -- The Thanksgiving travel rush is on, and LAX is preparing for what is expected to be their busiest day of the year.

LAX officials examined airline ticket sales and determined that Monday will be the busiest day at the airport this year. More than 167,000 are expected to pass through the airport as they return from Thanksgiving festivities.

Peak travel times are expected to be between 6-9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 7-10 p.m.

Airport police will be monitoring drivers and encouraging them to park in lots as they wait so loading zones don't become overcrowded.

Last year, 1.53 million passengers flew in and out of LAX over the long Thanksgiving weekend, and even more people are expected this year.

LAX was named by travel website Orbitz as the nation's busiest airport this weekend, replacing Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, which is projected to fall to second place. Orlando International, San Francisco International and Boston's Logan International round out the top five.

Travel website Ortiz assigns rankings by calculating ticket sales for the nation's top 50 airports between November 23 and 27.

But there are some good alternate choices for Southern California travelers looking to avoid the crowds.

The Orbitz rankings found that John Wayne Airport in Orange County will be one of the nation's three least busy major airports over the holiday weekend.

Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and Ontario International Airport should also be much less crowded than LAX.

Thanksgiving travel fell 22 percent at Bob Hope and 36 percent at Ontario International last year, compared to pre-recession highs in 2007.

Meantime, the Automobile Club of Southern California predicts that more Southern Californians will be on the move this Thanksgiving compared to last year.

About 3.3 million Southern Californians are expected to travel to visit friends and family, up 4.1 percent from last year.

The vast majority -- about 86 percent, or 2.8 million people -- will drive, according to the Auto Club.

Some 386,000 people are expected to fly and 91,000 will travel by other means.

The most popular destinations are predicted to be Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco, the Grand Canyon and Disneyland.

In total, about 42.5 million Americans are expected to travel this weekend.

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