What LAX forecast for the last two winters
2024-25. In a release dated December 20, 2024, LAX said it expected more than 3.2 million passengers between Thursday, December 19, 2024 and Thursday, January 2, 2025, with peaks on December 21, 27 and 30 and January 2. It asked travellers to arrive at least two hours before a domestic flight and three before an international one, and warned that parking was expected to reach capacity on the busiest days.
2025-26. LAX did not publish a winter holiday forecast. Its news releases between November 2025 and January 2026 cover Thanksgiving, the Santa Fly-In and a Tom Bradley International Terminal refresh, but no Christmas or New Year figures. For Thanksgiving 2025 it expected nearly 2.5 million guests; see our Thanksgiving at LAX guide.
We will add LAX's 2026-27 figures here if the airport publishes them.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on the roads
For the 2025 season, AAA forecast 122.4 million Americans travelling between December 20 and January 1, a record 8.03 million of them on domestic flights. INRIX, in the same release, listed December 24, December 25, December 31 and January 1 as days with minimal traffic impact, and Friday, December 26 as the worst, from 11 AM to 8 PM.
Closer to home, the Auto Club of Southern California forecast a record 10.2 million Southern Californians travelling over the 2025 holidays, about 945,000 of them by air, with the I-405 through the Sepulveda Pass worst in the late afternoons of December 22 and 23. The quiet days are Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; the hard ones are the days around them.
Getting there: LAX drop-off, pickup and the terminal changes
Terminal 5 is closed. LAX closed it on October 28, 2025 for a rebuild planned to finish before the 2028 Olympic Games. JetBlue moved to Terminal 1, Spirit to Terminal 2 and American to Terminal 4, so tell us the airline when you book and the drop-off goes to the right curb.
Departures. LAX permits curbside drop-off and pickup on both the upper, departures level and the lower, arrivals level. Your chauffeur drops you on the departures level at your airline's terminal.
Arrivals. The airport's LAX-it FAQ places limousine and town car pickups at the outermost curb on the first level outside baggage claim; LAX-it, the separate lot for taxis and app rides, does not apply. The LAX people mover is not open: as of late September 2026, passenger service was not expected before early January 2027, and that date could move.
- Being dropped off avoids the parking problem LAX flagged for its busiest holiday days.
- Collecting family yourself? LAX's cell phone lots are at 96th Street and Alverstone Avenue and at 96th Street and Vicksburg Avenue.
- Flying from Burbank instead? See Hollywood Burbank Airport car service.
Rideshare, transit or a car service on December 24 and 25
Uber has told riders that holiday demand can bring elevated surge levels, including on airport trips; an app price is set when you request the ride. A car service fare is set when you book: the booking form calculates it for your date, route and vehicle and shows it in full before you pay.
Metro ran a Sunday/holiday schedule on December 25 and 26 in recent seasons, and in 2024 offered free rides on Christmas Eve with rail service until about 2 a.m. The FlyAway bus between LAX, Van Nuys and Union Station runs every 15 minutes from 5 AM to 11 PM; LAX has not posted a separate holiday schedule.
Curbside pickup or meet and greet
Curbside is the standard pickup and carries no meet and greet charge. Meet and greet, at $60 per booking, has the chauffeur waiting inside the terminal with a name sign: the easier choice with small children, a lot of luggage, gifts to carry or a late arrival. Either way, add the flight number at booking so the pickup follows the actual landing time.
Families: car seats and the right vehicle
Add child seats and boosters at checkout: $25 each, per ride, and a round trip counts as two rides. Tell us each child's age and weight so the right seat is fitted before pickup; the LAX car service with car seats page explains the options. A family with holiday luggage usually books a Luxury SUV or an Escalade Elite, and a larger group stays together in a Sprinter.
What a ride from LAX cost
Every fare is per vehicle, priced by distance, includes taxes and fees and is shown before you pay. These are one-way fares from LAX on the booking form on October 10, 2026, in Comfort Sedan / Luxury SUV / Escalade Elite / Executive Sedan / Sprinter order. Child seats, meet and greet and the optional gratuity (20% preselected) are added on top, and booking the return in the same reservation makes both legs 5% less.
- Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills: $110 / $137 / $180 / $187 / $481
- Santa Monica Pier: $111 / $138 / $182 / $188 / $483
- The Biltmore, Downtown LA: $122 / $152 / $198 / $202 / $522 (LAX to Downtown LA)
- Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim: $165 / $207 / $265 / $257 / $677 (LAX to Disneyland)
While family is in town
The Lakers host the 76ers on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25, at 2 PM Pacific (Lakers and Clippers home games). Holidays at the Disneyland Resort run to January 6, Holidays at Universal Studios Hollywood and Knott's Merry Farm to January 3, and the Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens to January 9.
L.A. Zoo Lights is closed on December 24, 25 and 31. The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade runs December 16 to 20, the week before. For New Year's Eve and the Rose Parade on January 1, see our New Year's Eve guide.