UPDATED: 600 Delayed and Cancelled Flights Strand LAX Holiday Travelers

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Hundreds of flights have been cancelled out of Los Angeles International Airport Thursday, leaving thousands of passengers trapped in holiday hell on the busiest travel day of the year.

The first of two storms to buffet the region forced the delays or cancellations of 229 flights in and out of LAX between midnight and noon Thursday, said airport spokeswoman Mary Grady. Airport officials said another 400 flights are likely to be delayed or canceled Friday morning.

Heavy winds forced planes to alter their flight patterns out of LAX. Instead of taking off west over the ocean, pilots were forced to take off toward the east into more favorable wind conditions, Grady said. The switch slowed operations at LAX on a day when there is little room for delay, she said.

On Wednesday night, a number of delays were due in part to a "capacity issue" related to a larger number of flights that were scheduled compared with a normal day, Grady said.

"It was the busiest travel day of the year," Grady noted. "There were more planes and more passengers."
Before heading to the airport, travelers are urged to contact their airlines for flight updates.

According to Grady, passengers experienced 78 arrival delays and 96 departure delays; and 22 arrival cancellations and 33 departure cancellations on Thursday morning.

City News Service contributed to this report. Photo: TheeErin via flickr.com