Hundreds Of Flight Cancellations And Delays Make Travel Out Of LAX Tough

The day after Christmas was tough for vacationers. At his LAX at 3pm, over 160 flights have been canceled and over 260 delayed.

Still, the travelers I spoke with tried not to dampen the vacation spirit too much.

Melissa Trujillo and her three children spent Christmas at Disneyland. When I spoke with them, instead of waiting to board Splash Mountain, they were in line for three hours to board a new flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“We had a great time. I’m exhausted… I just want to go to bed, but that doesn’t seem to be the case today,” she said with a laugh. But no luck there either.

“I mean, I think there are worse places to get stuck,” added Trujillo.

On Dec. 26, 2022, Melissa Trujillo and her kids went to Disneyland for Christmas and queued up at LAX waiting for their flight back to New Mexico.

Jordan Harris twirled her 2-year-old son in a stroller to entertain her husband while he waited in line with his 5-year-old son. Her home is Los Angeles, but she was going to New Orleans to welcome her husband’s family into the New Year.

“We’ve been here for about four hours with two small children, so I was a self-designated unpaid Southwest employee directing traffic and telling people where to go.” “We’ve experienced the food and all the activities on board, so once you’re on the plane, you know what you need in terms of entertainment.”

Richard Strong spent Christmas in Rancho Cucamonga with his brother, who is terminally ill.

“Before coming here, I had a wonderful Christmas with all my brothers… [to LAX],” he said.

Richard Strong spent Christmas with his brothers at Rancho Cucamonga and was heading home to Little Rock, Arkansas on December 26, 2022.

He grew up in the LA area, but his home is in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he works as a restaurant manager. The week before New Year’s is a busy week for them. Despite waiting in painfully long lines, he managed to stay positive.

“The last few days have been bad weather in the East and Midwest. “I’m not happy about that, but what can you do? At least we’re still alive, right?”