International travelers arriving at Los Angeles International Airport should expect some of the country’s longest waiting times to extend through customs on their way to their destination through U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Every day, thousands of foreign tourists arrive at the largest travel center in Southern California to visit their families, do business or visit the area. But first, they need to pass customs.

CBP said in fiscal year 2024 that the agency had conducted more than 420 million passengers at the national entrance, an increase of 6.6% from the previous year.

According to daily updates of CBP data, the airport averaged 550 foreigners arriving every hour, making it the busiest international terminal in the country at the time.

The massive sales also bring a questionable difference: the custom of LAX arrival is the second custom waiting time for any major airport, from June 2024 to August 2024, with an average queue of more than 30 minutes. Only Chicago O'Hare International Airport is worse.

Data shows that although foreign travelers have waited 30 minutes in the past 12 months, the waiting time is significantly longer during peak trips.

For non-citizens, travelers waited an average of 113 minutes during the Labor Day weekend last year, and at least one unfortunate passenger waited 245 minutes, or more than four hours, during the largest backup period, to achieve through customs.

Last summer, waiting times for U.S. citizens returning from abroad were much shorter, with an average of less than 19 minutes - but Los Angeles International remains the third-chronic customs compared to other major airports. Only O'Hare and Orlando International Airport have longer wait times.

On July 19, a Tiktok user posted a video of Hellline, leading to customs and for "everyone is back from the hot euro summer".

Two days later, another Tiktok user posted a longer line. His title asks how the city can resolve the situation in a timely manner in 2028.

The worst time to arrive at the LAX International Terminal in summer 2024 was the Labor Day weekend, when U.S. citizens’ waiting time was famous at an average rate of 74 minutes, with peak waiting time reaching 205 minutes, more than three hours.

According to the latest data, the pace of arrival is reappearing as we enter the busy summer travel season.

Customs arrivals at Tom Bradley International Terminal in LAX in April rose nearly 4% in April, suggesting that this summer may be busier than last year, according to Los Angeles World Airport.

"After the construction, we've seen exponential growth," said CBP spokesman Jaime Ruiz. "There are more flights, more travelers."

He said many arrivals are long-haul flights, and they often overlap with weather and scheduling issues, which complicates the congestion at customs. "Waiting time is a moving target. It's a daily situation," Ruiz said.