There was a blissful calm in Terminal 7 at Los Angeles International Airport around 5 a.m. Wednesday, when travelers heading out of town early for the Fourth of July could drop off their bags quickly and get to their gate in short order.
Traffic was light, crowds were sparse, and getting through the security line was a breeze.
But it didn’t last long.
By 6 a.m., the scene inside the airport had transformed to sleepy travelers in sun hats shuffling around check-in kiosks, impatient business workers weaving around luggage toward their gates and stressed parents running to security, urging their straggling children to keep up.
It was the type of scene travelers through this weekend should expect to see at LAX and other travel hubs, when millions are expected to drive, fly or take a train out of town for the holiday.
According to the American Automobile Association, over 72 million people nationwide will travel more than 50 miles from June 28 to July 6, an increase of nearly 2 million travelers compared to last year.
Around 61.6 million people are expected to travel by car over the holiday weekend, which is a 2.2% increase from last year, according to AAA. Wednesday and Sunday are expected to be the most congested traffic days, with the afternoon being the busiest time to drive. AAA recommended that travelers get their vehicles routinely inspected before their trip, as well as keeping an emergency kit available in case of a flat tire or a dead battery.
Around 4.78 million people were expected to travel by bus, train or cruise, according to the release.
Air traffic will be particularly swamped, with over 18.5 million travelers expected to take flight across the nation from Tuesday to Sunday, according to a release from the Transportation Security Administration. This comes after an already busy summer — last week, the TSA announced it had experienced its busiest travel day of all time on June 22.
“We work with the airports and the airline to project down to the hour when those passenger loads are coming through, just to make sure that we’re staffed,” said Jessica Maley, a regional spokesperson for the TSA. “The main takeaway for passengers is that we’re staffed up and we’re prepared.”
LAX is anticipating over 1.5 million travelers through the Fourth of July weekend, with its busiest day projected to be on Sunday, according to Justin Upshaw, an LAX spokesperson.
The fact the holiday falls on a Friday may lead to increased travel beyond the weekend, he said.
“Next week, we’re seeing higher numbers sustain,” he said. “So that could suggest that, you know, people are either taking next week off, they’re leaving earlier, leaving this weekend, or maybe they’re sticking around and starting a trip next week.”
Upshaw suggested travelers get to the airport about two hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international flights.
Other local airports are also expecting a surge in passengers over the next week or so.
The Hollywood Burbank Airport anticipates a 2.6% increase in passenger volume between Monday and July 8 compared with last year, and its busiest days to be between Thursday and next Monday.
Neither officials at Long Beach Airport or John Wayne Airport had traveler projections through the week, but both said they expected a surge in travelers through early next week.
At LAX on Wednesday, some travelers arrived at the airport ready to deal with holiday chaos.
Stephanie Hebert was among them. She was heading home to Boston after helping her best friend move to L.A. She got to the airport earlier than normal, thanks to her friend’s mom reminding her that the process may take longer because of the holiday crowds. Without the mom’s warning, Hebert would have missed her flight, she said.
Hebert said she travels a lot for her job. Her biggest tip for stressful days at the airport? Cry it out.
“I have no shame in openly weeping in airports,” Hebert said. “You can cry, you can do whatever you need to do to get to where you need to be. Cry it out!”
Bennet Cariaga lives in Hollywood, but was born and raised in Hawaii. He was at the airport Wednesday morning on standby, hoping to catch a flight to Hawaii to camp out on the beach with his family for the Fourth. He said he took two additional days off before the holiday just in case there were any delays or issues with finding a flight.
“I’m prepared to roll over if I have to … there’s a chance I might roll over to the next flight,” he said. “I wanted to get here, get ahead of it, and then, you know, not have to stress over missing a flight or missing an entire day of camping.”
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