There were major traffic tie-ups outside the terminals, and out on the tarmacs, planes were left waiting for hours after landing.
"We arrived at 4:07 (p.m.) and got off the plane at 6:37 (p.m.). We were on the tarmac for two and a half hours," said traveler Steve Baumann, of Seattle.
#LAXTRAFFIC AVOID delays and arrive early, currently traffic is HEAVY in the Central Terminal Area.
— LA Airport PD (@LAAirportPD) December 22, 2016
A ground stop forced some flights to land at other airports -- from Ontario to Phoenix to San Francisco.
According to the LAX website, almost every incoming flight, starting in the late afternoon, was either delayed or diverted to another airport.
On other planes, passengers were trapped out on the runways as increased flights, construction and weather created the perfect storm for major tarmac tie-ups.
Travel #nightmare @flyLAXairport .Flights delayed & diverted, passengers stuck on planes. The holiday headaches growing by the hour at 11pm.
— Leanne Suter (@abc7leanne) December 22, 2016
Outside the terminals was a similar situation as more than 100,000 vehicles were expected to pass through the Central Terminal area on Wednesday alone.
For travelers and crew, this holiday has many seeing red.
"Our pilot was telling us it would be like another 20 minutes. He had never seen so much airplanes on one track in a few years," said Tinshana Hill, a West Hollywood resident. "So, it took us a while to get to our gate but we're here now."
LAX spokesperson Katherine Alvarado said there were four main reasons for the gridlock. The Federal Aviation Administration mandated upgrades to runways at airports across the country, and the ongoing construction was hampering efforts to get flights to their gates after they land. Secondly, there is a 9.5 percent increase in the number of passengers traveling through LAX from the same date in 2015. Also, to meet the demand this year, most airlines added flights and routes into the airport, which caused more complications. Lastly, Dec. 21 is one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Airfield construction has traffic at LAX backed up this evening. A few flights stopping for fuel en route. https://t.co/hynA3RedLs pic.twitter.com/02CTxZx1T6
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) December 22, 2016
Delays were averaging more than three hours Wednesday night, and airport officials said the trouble may continue through Thursday morning.
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