LOS ANGELES, June 30, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) expects to serve 840,000 travelers over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Friday, July 1, through Monday, July 4, an increase of 5 percent over the comparable holiday period last year.
With the Fourth of July holiday approaching, law enforcement officials are reminding passengers that fireworks -- including sparklers and bottle rockets -- are prohibited beyond passenger screening checkpoints, in aircraft cabins, and in checked baggage stowed in the cargo hold of the aircraft.
To avoid airport delays, officials recommend passengers on domestic flights print their boarding passes from airlines' Internet websites using home or office computers and check luggage curbside. Domestic airlines also provide automated kiosks located in their ticketing lobbies that also check-in luggage.
For up-to-the-minute airport, traffic and parking conditions, LAX AiRadio (530 on the AM dial) today begins longer LIVE, DAILY broadcasts from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. During the summer through Labor Day, additional live broadcasts are scheduled Friday and Sunday nights from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Motorists picking up arriving passengers are advised to use the free 24-hour LAX Cell Phone Waiting Lot to wait for a call that their arriving party is terminal curbside ready for pick-up. The cell phone waiting lot is located at 9011 Airport Boulevard -- about one-half mile from the passenger terminal area.
Overall, this year's summer passenger traffic from Memorial Day to Labor Day at LAX is expected to be 18.5 million -- an increase of about one million passengers or six percent over last summer.
Ontario International Airport (ONT) expects 102,000 travelers to go through the Inland Empire airport during the four-day holiday weekend, an increase of 5 percent from the same period last year. ONT is forecast to set another record this summer with nearly 2 million travelers, up 5 percent over last year's 1.9 million passengers.
For travel tips, visit www.lawa.org on the Internet.