Record number of Thanksgiving travelers expected at LAX

There’s really no way around it, Thanksgiving travel is going to be rough this year no matter what you do.

The Automobile Club of Southern California has already predicted 3.65 million Southern Californians are headed out of town for the holiday, the highest number of Thanksgiving travelers since 2007. More than 80 percent of those travelers will be jamming the highways to get to their destination by car.

Unfortunately, the skies might be just as full.

According to the travel website Orbitz (via Los Angeles Times), Los Angeles International Airport is forecast to be the third busiest airport in the U.S. the week of Thanksgiving. A record 2.3 million travelers are expected to fly in and out of LA's international airport this week, an eight percent increase over last year’s record number of 2.1 million.

The busiest days for LAX will be Wednesday as well as the Sunday and Monday following Thanksgiving, according to KTLA. More than one million cars will make their way to LAX’s central terminal during the holiday week, anywhere from 105,000 to 123,500 vehicles per day.

It’s not all bad news for LAX passengers though. At least they won’t be snowed in. In fact, LAX does slightly better with Thanksgiving flight delays than other major airports. Nationwide, it ranks sixth among airports with a high rate of delays.

• Here are the airports expected to have the worst Thanksgiving travel delays [LA Times]
• 2.3 Million Travelers Expected to Pass Through LAX During Thanksgiving Holiday Period [KTLA]
• LAX is expected to set record for Thanksgiving travelers [LA Times]
• Road warriors: Brace yourselves for lots of Thanksgiving traffic [Curbed LA]