"On a normal Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving ... typically, we have a quarter of a million passengers," says Charles Pannunzio, a spokesperson for Los Angeles International Airport. This year, LAX says it expects only a third of those numbers of travelers. Stopping short of issuing an outright ban, the US government's health protection agency has for the first time called on Americans not to travel for the annual holiday, which sees families get together over turkey, yams and cranberry sauce and for many is more important than Christmas.