LAX expected to be second busiest US airport over July Fourth weekend

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- America's birthday is just around the corner and many folks are getting ready to celebrate starting off by hopping on a plane.

Los Angeles International Airport will see about half a million passengers departing from Thursday through Monday, according to travel site Hopper. Delays and cancellations are expected to continue, too.

"We left the house at 7. At 6:30 I checked and the flight was on time," said Berny Borgida, a traveler at LAX. "As soon as we got to the airport the flight was canceled."

According to Hopper, LAX is expected to be the second busiest airport in the country this weekend. Hopper also said 33% of departing flights from U.S. airports are being delayed. About 25% of flights out of LAX are being delayed.

"Part of the reason we are seeing so much disruption at airports is because airlines have proactively canceled flights. Demand came back much faster than expected after the omicron wave ended earlier this year. Airlines scheduled more flights than they could actually fulfill this summer," said Hayley Berg, a lead economist with Hopper.

With all of the disruptions, travelers can be displaced, miss connections or have long delays, said Berg. So, it's best to add a flight protection plan to that ticket.

According to Hopper, delays and cancellations will ease up towards the end of the summer.

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