LOS ANGELES AIRPORT EXPECTS 700,000 TRAVELERS OVER LABOR DAY WEEKEND

(Los Angeles, California -- August 29, 2003)  Nearly 700,000 passengers are expected to move through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) over the four-day Labor Day weekend -- mirroring last year's Labor Day travel volume.  The busiest days are expected to be Friday, August 29, and Monday, Sept. 1, when airlines are forecasting passenger load factors will be above 90 percent.

During the Labor Day weekend through mid-September, Los Angeles Airport Police, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies will be working together to ensure significant resources are deployed in and around LAX to ensure public safety.  The traveling public will see an increased presence of uniformed and non-uniformed law enforcement officers in and around the terminal areas.

Holiday Travel Tips

            With families traveling for late summer vacations and taking advantage of outdoor sports and other activities, airport officials offer the following tips to help passengers speed through LAX:

·         Do not pack or bring prohibited items to LAX.  For a complete list, visit the Transportation

Security Administration website at www.TSATravelTips.US.

·         Call your airline to confirm your flight and to learn how early you should arrive for check-in.  Allow sufficient time for parking, transport to the terminals, check-in, and security screening

of checked luggage and carry-on baggage.

·         Bring government-issued photo identification required of all passengers over 18 years old to obtain tickets and boarding passes.  Also, place identification on the outside and inside of all

·         Watch your bags at all times and remember to retrieve all personal belongings from passenger screening checkpoints. 

·         Place undeveloped photographic film, film in cameras and videotape in carry-on baggage, as they may be damaged during checked-baggage security screening.

·         Pack in checked luggage any item that may be used to harm a person.  This includes sports equipment, home and garden tools, cooking utensils, fishing and hunting equipment, and toys that resemble weapons.  Containers of hazardous materials and aerosol sprays that may burst in flight are prohibited in checked luggage.

·         Clean sports equipment (such as golf clubs) of any fertilizers or other chemicals that may set off explosive-detection equipment.

·         Travel light.  Passengers are limited to one carry-on baggage and one personal item, such as a purse, briefcase or diaper bag.

·         Avoid wearing clothing, jewelry and accessories containing metal that may set off the alarm on metal detectors.

·         For more information about LAX, including real-time vehicular traffic and flight operational conditions and additional travel tips, visit the airport's website at www.lawa.org, call (310) 646-5260, or listen to AiRadio 530 AM.