LAX travelers deal with holiday travel, Omicron concerns and strike

As thousands head home for the holidays at LAX, American Airlines Admirals Lounge workers protest for raises.

Jaysha Patel Image
Thursday, December 23, 2021
LAX travelers deal with Omicron concerns and strike
American Airlines Admirals Lounge workers protested for raises on Wednesday as holiday travel ramps up ahead of Christmas.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KABC) -- With the holidays right around the corner, people are traveling to see loved ones.

The travel site Hopper's latest holiday reveal outlook ranked LAX as the second busiest airport this week for holiday travel.

Amaya McCrey had a layover at LAX while heading back home to Hawaii for the holidays,

"It's very busy because a lot of people want to travel out of state and different places and see their family. It's very packed every hour of the day," said McCrey.

Martin Bang is an exchange student from Denmark at the University of Southern California. He said he was traveling to Hawaii for the holidays.

"Hawaii has very strict rules in order to get in. I either have to be vaccinated or you have to get a Covid test 72 hours before," said Bang.

Bang said with the Omicron variant he was cautious before his trip by social distancing.

And at LAX's terminal four on Wednesday, workers gathered for a protest outside.

On Monday, 98% of American Airlines Admirals Lounge workers employed by HMS Host voted to authorize a strike, saying they want raises.

There's no official day for the strike but they came out Wednesday to bring attention to what's happening.

"Many of us know right now gas is going up, rent is going up. It is a holiday season, most of us are potentially trying to buy gifts for our kids and many of us have to work more than one job to try and make ends meet," said Maria Hernandez, a member of Unite Here Local 11.

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