A busy holiday weekend ahead for LAX travelers

If you are flying out of Los Angeles International Airport this holiday weekend, be prepared to fight through record crowds.

LAX expects to serve 835,500 passengers through the Labor Day weekend, a 7% increase over last year’s total of 780,716, the record for the holiday weekend, according to the airport.

The busiest day of the weekend will be Friday, when an estimated 228,000 passengers will pass through the airport, followed by Monday, when 216,700 passengers are expected to shuffle through, airport officials said.

The Auto Club of Southern California has forecast that 2.5 million Southern California residents will travel at least 50 miles from home for the holiday weekend, a 1% increase over last year’s holiday.

Travel experts attribute the growth in travel demand to an improving U.S. economy and a drop in gasoline prices and airfares.

Although LAX has been urging passengers to use mass transit to get to and from the airport, an estimated 310,600 vehicles are expected to enter the central terminal area this weekend, a 4% increase over last year.

Airport officials urge passengers to check the LAX Is Happening website for updated advice on navigating around renovation projects underway at Terminals 1,2, 6, 7 and 8. LAX is the world’s fifth-busiest airport and the nation’s second-busiest, behind Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.