Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) officials report another busy day on 26th December at LAX with more than 1800 flight operations and nearly 234,000 passengers. From noon to midnight there have been a reported 81 arrival delays, 50 departure delays, 1 arrival and 3 departure flight cancellations. This morning, December 26, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented an air traffic volume delay which slows the rate of planes arriving to LAX, done to manage an increase in the number of flights added by airlines which has caused taxiway and gate congestion. The ground delay program was lifted just after 12:30 this afternoon; it could be implemented again if taxiway and gate congestion issues occur.
LAWA officials also caution that reports of delays being caused by runway construction are not accurate. The U.S. Congress mandated all the nation’s airports complete Runway Safety Area (RSA) improvements that will provide an extra margin of safety for landing and departing aircraft. Improvements on the fourth and final runway, 7L/25R began in late October. “RSA improvements began at LAX in March 2015, and are being completed in phases to limit impacts to operations,” said LAWA Chief of External Affairs, Trevor Daley. “All four runways at LAX are being used, and have not impacted operations during this holiday travel period. December is not even the busiest time at LAX – July saw passenger volumes reaching 254,000, and runway construction taking place at that time did not impact airport operations.”
LAX is forecasting a recording breaking holiday travel period with an estimated 4.3 million travellers, 9.5 percent above last year’s record 3.9 million passengers, an additional 400,000 passengers.
The 19-day holiday period from Friday, December 16, through Tuesday, January 3. Wednesday, December 21 and Friday, December 23, were extremely busy days with passenger numbers nearing 239,000 travellers. The slowest days were Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and there will also be fewer passengers New Year’s Eve with some 198,000 travellers. By comparison, LAX averages 221,000 passengers a day year.
The increased volume that continues to impact flight operations is due to a number of factors:
- LAX averages 1750 to 1800 daily operations – during this holiday travel period, operations have increased to more than 1900 a day during the busiest days
- Increased volume – an additional 400,000 passengers this holiday travel period
- Increased aircraft to meet the volume demand
- Gate management issues, airlines having difficulty managing the volume of aircraft and not having enough gate space
- A shortage of airline gates causing planes to be held on the runway after arriving at LAX
- Increased passenger volume that added to wait times at airline ticket counters
- Weather impacts at other U.S. airports that can cause arrival delays, which in turn can contribute to departure delays at LAX
The related impacts to the guest experience continue to be of great concern to Los Angeles World Airport (LAWA) officials. “While some of the delays our passengers have experienced during this holiday travel period were caused by weather conditions in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the U.S.,” said Daley, “the additional volume of passengers and management of terminal gates will be addressed with our airline partners. It is in all of our best interest to find solutions to better accommodate the increasing number of people who want to use LAX.”
Over the past several days, airport staff have continued to communicate to travellers to expect a lot of traffic in the Central Terminal Area (CTA), more than 1.8 million vehicles.
The week before Christmas will average more than 103,000 vehicles daily, peaking on Wednesday, December 21 with 108,000 vehicles. The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day will average 95,000 vehicles. Nearly 106,000 vehicles are expected on Monday, January 2 and Tuesday, January 3. By comparison, LAX’s daily average number of vehicles is 90,000.
Motorists and passengers waiting for public transportation have been advised they should plan for delays of up to 30 minutes during periods of traffic congestion in the CTA. Passengers have also been reminded that they can do their part to help reduce traffic congestion by taking shared-ride public transportation to/from LAX, including: Metro Rail Green Line; door-to-door shuttle vans; and long-distance and municipal buses. The airport also offers inexpensive and convenient FlyAway buses from Hollywood, Long Beach, Metro Orange Line (San Fernando Valley), Union Station, Van Nuys, and Westwood/UCLA.
In time for the holidays, shared-ride services uberPOOL and Lyft Line are now available at LAX. The companies match riders going in the same direction, reducing the fare for each rider and the number of vehicles in the CTA.
Rather than circling the Central Terminal Area until arriving passengers reach terminal curbside for pick up, motorists have been using the LAX Cell Phone Waiting Lot at 6221 West 96th Street (96th Street and Vicksburg Avenue), adjacent to the entrance of LAX Parking Lot C). Motorists can park and wait up to two hours free.
To help keep traffic and passengers moving, and reduce the stress of travel, passengers have been told to expect:
- A moratorium on construction and utility shut-downs in public areas inside and outside the airline terminals, parking lots, and traffic lanes went into effect at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, December 21 and will end at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, December 27. For the New Year, a moratorium will begin at 6 a.m. on Thursday, December 29 and end at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, January 4.
- Los Angeles World Airports employee volunteers in black vests, comprising this year’s Team of LAXceptional Courtesy (TLC), have been in terminals and on sidewalks offering assistance and information to passengers on Wednesday December 21 and Friday December 23, the two busiest days.
- LAX’s popular PUPs therapy dogs have been out in force providing comfort to passengers feeling stress from holiday travel.
- Los Angeles Airport Police are on enhanced deployment for high visibility and traffic management.
“While we’ve experienced fewer flight delays and cancellations, we know we still got some very busy days ahead, including January 2 and 3,” said Daley. “We want our passengers to know that LAWA, airline and airport employees do care about our passengers, and we are doing everything we can to better manage the increased volume of passengers and planes.”
