CA is reopened but what does that mean for LAX travelers?

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The much anticipated California re-opening is here, which means the hustle and bustle of LAX is expected to ramp up.

The reopening means no capacity limits or physical distancing requirements for businesses and fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks in most places.

However, the mask mandate is still being enforced at LAX so travelers at LAX can still expect to see masks.

And, these guidelines are expected to continue through September. Social distancing is also being encouraged as travel is likely to increase in the next couple of months.

Just last month TSA reported nearly 2 million passengers, the busiest month since the pandemic.

"A lot of people have been sitting at home for a year plus, and everyone wants to travel this summer," said Brian Sumers, Editor at large for Skift. "LAX is going to be about as busy as anybody remembers from 2019."

Sumers said: don't expect the middle seat on airplanes to be open when travelling this summer. That's because a lot more people will be coming in and out of LAX headed for some of the hottest destinations, like Hawaii.

Summers said other travel hit spots are anywhere within 100 miles of a national park.

"As people have been planning their trips, they've still wanted to go to places where you can take social distancing seriously and things like that," Sumers said. "And that makes the Rocky Mountains, the American West very popular."

LAX spokesperson Stephanie Sampson said there has been a steady increase in travelers and expects the trend to continue well after the California reopening.

"We do expect to see an increase in travel," Sampson said. "On June 11 we had a record of 84,500 passengers that came through screening, highest of the pandemic, and as we head into the Fourth of July weekend, we only expect to see those travel numbers continue to rise."

Sampson said as LAX begins to open up, more restaurants and retail, more jobs will return as well. Limo service operator and Uber and Lyft driver Jonathan Herrera is also looking forward to the increase in business.

"I hope that after June 15, once everything has opened back up, everything starts going back to the way pre-COVID," Herrera said. "And more people start visiting Los Angeles again."

Jordan Michael said he has to travel frequently for work and hopes to travel more as long as it's done safely.

"it's been about a year since I've traveled so I hope it picks up and hope they can do it in a safe organized manner," Michael said.

Sumers said not only will there be an increase in flights, but there will be a lot of booked hotels and Airbnbs. We may even see those Uber and Lyft prices begin to drop as demand increases.

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