Memorial Day weekend expected to be busiest in years at SoCal airports, on roads

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- It's Memorial Day weekend and that means heavy traffic on the freeways and congestion at the airports across SoCal.

At Los Angeles International Airport, officials predict about 895,000 travelers will go through the airport over the weekend, which is 5 percent more than last year.

It could be the highest volume for a Memorial Day weekend since 2005. After terror attacks in Europe, with the most recent one in Manchester, there is a higher police presence at all airports across the country.

In addition to tighter security, TSA is testing new screening procedures at 10 airports, including LAX. Passengers are being asked to take out electronic devices larger than a cellphone, such as a tablet, from carry-on bags and place them on trays that will be X-rayed.

"We came three hours early because we didn't know the area and didn't know what was going on here. So we didn't want to miss our flight and get stuck," Las Vegas resident Kristie Garcia said.

Because of those procedures, there could be additional delays so travelers are being warned to arrive early.

Passengers Eyewitness News spoke to said getting through the airport on Friday afternoon wasn't too bad, but getting to the airport was another story.

According to AAA, there will be 3 million people traveling in Southern California, with 2.5 million of them by car.

The roads this weekend are expected to be the busiest in history. More than 3 million Southern Californians are expected to travel Thursday through Monday, with 2.5 million by car, according to AAA.

One of the reasons for the higher road travel has to do with stable gas prices despite it being $0.20 higher than last year.

In an effort to ease traffic woes, Caltrans halted several construction projects. But officials warn people to use caution going through those areas by driving slow and paying attention.