Friday is busiest day of Labor Day weekend at LAX

Los Angeles International Airport is bracing itself for a crush of Labor Day weekend travelers, with Friday expected to be the busiest day of the long holiday weekend.

More than 1.3 million people are expected to pass through the airport over the Labor Day period, which began Thursday and ends Tuesday. Friday is expected to be the busiest day, with more than 256,000 passengers estimated to pass through the airport’s terminals, officials said.

“For many of our guests, the Labor Day holiday offers a last chance for a summer trip, which means a busy weekend at LAX,” said Michael Christensen, deputy executive director of operations and maintenance for Los Angeles World Airports.

The airport is encouraging travelers to check in one to two hours earlier than usual and to check wait times and traffic updates online. Travelers can find live updates about traffic, parking and security wait times at the @FlyLAXstats Twitter account.

Monday is expected to be the second busiest day of the holiday weekend with more than 229,000 passengers passing through LAX.

Despite the heavy traffic, officials said the Labor Day weekend won’t be the busiest compared to other peak summer weekends. On Friday, Aug. 2, more than 275,000 passengers passed through the airport, and on Friday, Aug. 9, there were more than 274,000 passengers, said Charles Pannunzio, a spokesman for LAWA.