LAX expects 14% drop in Thanksgiving holiday passengers

A troubled economy and fewer seats and flights will mean that fewer passengers will pack their bags and fly into and out of Los Angeles this Thanksgiving holiday, airport officials announced today.

Los Angeles International Airport is expecting 1.6 million passengers -- a 14% dive from last year -- this Thanksgiving travel period, which begins Friday and ends Nov. 30, officials said.

"We are not surprised by the 14.3% decline because it follows the trend that was already reported for the fall and winter schedules," said Nancy Castles, an LAX spokeswoman.

LA/Ontario International Airport is anticipating an even larger drop: 30% down from the 210,000 passengers last year, mainly because ExpressJet and JetBlue have stopped flying out of the Inland Empire airport. The airport is operated by Los Angeles World Airports, the same agency that runs LAX.

By some estimates, airline travel nationwide is expected to drop as much as 10% from last year.

Still, President Bush said Tuesday that the Pentagon would once again open up airspace typically reserved for military use to reduce air traffic congestion during the holidays. The move will open up skies over parts of the East Coast, the Midwest, the Southwest and the West Coast, including around Los Angeles.

Los Angeles airport officials, however, are still preparing for the busiest three days of the year: Friday, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after. Airlines are expecting flights on those days to be 90% full, with many booked to capacity.

LAX served 1.85 million passengers during the 2007 Thanksgiving holiday season, a 3% increase from the previous year.

Wagner is a Times staff writer.

james.wagner@latimes.com

Times staff writer Catherine Ho contributed to this report.