Labor Day weekend travelers expected to break record at Los Angeles International Airport

Another holiday weekend, another record set to be broken at Los Angeles International Airport.

LAX officials predict 888,000 travelers will fly through the airport over the Labor Day holiday weekend, a 4.1% increase over last year’s total and a new record for the nation’s second-busiest airport.

Friday and Monday are expected to be the busiest days of the holiday period, with about 239,000 travelers Friday and 236,000 expected Monday.

The fresh high comes as no surprise. The airport and Los Angeles County have been setting records for travel and tourism for the last few years.

The airport predicted a record 25.6 million passengers would use LAX over the entire summer, a 2.7% increase over the same period in 2016. The Memorial Day weekend was also forecast to have a record 895,371 visitors, a 5.2% increase over the previous record in 2016.

Many of those travelers visit Los Angeles from out of state and outside the U.S.

In 2016, L.A. County hosted a record 47.3 million visitors, a 4% increase over the previous year. Last year marked the sixth year in a row that Los Angeles County set a record for visitors.

Tourism and travel experts attribute the increase in visitors to a relatively strong economy over the last few years, positive consumer confidence and cheap airline tickets, thanks to a drop in jet fuel costs.

LAX officials encourage travelers to use mass transit, including the Flyaway buses, to help alleviate the traffic crush that is expected.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

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