MILLIONS TO HIT ROAD OR AIRPORT LEAVE EARLY AND JUST EXPECT CROWDS, TRAVEL OFFICIALS SAY.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, travelers can expect packed airports starting at midday Wednesday and jammed freeways later that afternoon as the Thanksgiving holiday beckons, experts said Monday. Some 2.8 million Southern Californians will head out for the long weekend - most by car but many by air - with Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. , the Grand Canyon Grand Canyon, great gorge of the Colorado River, one of the natural wonders of the world; c.1 mi (1.6 km) deep, from 4 to 18 mi (6.4–29 km) wide, and 217 mi (349 km) long, NW Ariz. , San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , Yosemite and San Diego as the top five destinations, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California The Automobile Club of Southern California was founded December 13, 1900 in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first motor clubs dedicated to improving roads, proposing traffic laws and improvement of overall driving conditions. . Officials at Los Angeles International Airport “LAX” redirects here. For other uses, see LAX (disambiguation). “KLAX” redirects here. For other uses, see KLAX (disambiguation). Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX expect long lines because of a shortage of security screeners, and they are encouraging passengers to arrive two hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international travel. ``The airports before Thanksgiving are like the malls after Thanksgiving. There are a lot of people,'' said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, which handles screening of passengers and luggage at the nation's airports. However, a TSA TSA See tax-sheltered annuity (TSA). spokesman said the agency planned to open four additional checkpoints at LAX and has granted overtime nationwide to try to handle the anticipated crush of travelers. Burbank Airport spokesman Victor Gill said the workers there expect to see about 20 percent more travelers than on a usual weekday. The airport is on track to return to its pre-Sept. 11, 2001, passenger levels of 4.7 million travelers for the first time this calendar year. ``It's not just the passengers; it's all the hangers-on - the meeters and greeters - who complicate things,'' Gill said. ``It gets pretty hectic.'' On the highways, the California Highway Patrol will have all available officers on the road from 6 p.m. Wednesday through midnight Sunday. Officers will be particularly watching for those not wearing seat belts. Travel experts say peak activity at airports will come on Wednesday and Sunday. On the highways, there will actually be more traffic on Thursday but less congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. because the travel is spread throughout the day, according to Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club. ``If you're not cooking a turkey, then pretty much you're going somewhere,'' she said. She said gas is about 10 cents a gallon higher than it was last year - at $1.73 for self-serve regular in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area. --For travel information, go to www.tsatraveltips.us, www.lawa.org or www.aaa-calif.com Lisa Mascaro, (818) 713-3761 lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com |
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