A tangle of traffic delays caused by road closures were reported around Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday morning, with travelers posting on social media about some getting out of cars on city streets and walking to the airport with their luggage.
“Absolutely horrendous traffic,” said X user David Barnett. “More than an hour to go 1/2 mile. People walking with bags for miles. Flights being missed. Disgraceful.”
The airport’s daily traffic guide showed flight delays throughout the terminals.
On Saturday, airport officials said some lanes would be temporarily closed overnight.
“To facilitate work for the Automated People Mover (APM), a temporary overnight closure of Century Blvd eastbound lanes between Sepulveda Blvd & Airport Blvd and westbound lanes between Airport Blvd & Vicksburg Ave will be implemented from 11PM on March 16 to 7AM on March 17,” the announcement on X said.
On Sunday, an airport representative told a reporter in a brief email statement that the increased traffic congestion was caused by construction delays on eastbound and westbound Century Boulevard.
We are anticipating increased traffic congestion at LAX. Guests are encouraged to arrive early, pre-book parking and use Cell Phone Waiting Lots to help with vehicle traffic. Visit https://t.co/L8n1c3iSdN for up-to-the-minute traffic stats.
— LAX Airport (@flyLAXairport) March 17, 2024
The Los Angeles Airport Police, Los Angeles Department of Transportation and flaggers, also known as traffic control, were assisting on scene, according to officials.
“Would have been nice to know earlier!” Jennifer J wrote on X. “My friend left at 9 am and missed her flight due to the crazy traffic that didn’t show up on any of the navigation apps, until on Manchester! The last mile took 30 minutes, with her walking with luggage from Lincoln! She had to rebook $$$$$$$”
Another post on X read, “It was a nightmare! After not moving in traffic for 20 mins we pulled over parked and RAN the rest of the way. My son barely made his flight. LADOT needs to come up with a way to alert travelers.”
An airport official could not be reached to answer questions about what led to the problems, the specific construction issues or how long the heavy traffic was expected to continue.
