Travelers landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday were greeted by chaotic scenes involving gridlocked traffic, packed shuttle buses and seemingly endless lines waiting for taxis after the airport’s new policy on Uber and Lyft rides left passengers stranded for hours.

Temperatures were high into the seventies in LA yesterday afternoon, but the sizzling Autumnal heat paled in comparison to the boiling tempers of the travelers stuck trying to make their way to LAX’s new ride-share pickup zone.

With some wait times reported to be in excess of one hour and forty minutes, some disgruntled travelers said it took them longer to find a ride home than it did for them to get to Los Angeles in the first place.

'It was Carmageddon,' Nicole Moore, a Lyft driver in LA, told the Guardian. 'We’re not paid for those minutes … This is not good for anyone right now.'

Travelers landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday were greeted by chaotic scenes involving gridlocked traffic, packed shuttle buses and seemingly endless lines waiting for taxis after the airport’s new policy on Uber and Lyft rides left passengers stranded for hours

With wait times in excess of one hour and forty minutes, some of the disgruntled travelers said it took them longer to find a ride home than it did for them to get to Los Angeles in the first place. Others likened the extensive queues to those seen at the California's world-renown festival, Coachella

Similar disdainful fervor was shared online, with one angered Twitter user thundering: ‘I’m at LAX. The new ride share system is a sh*t show! It’s going to take you about 45 mins to get an Uber or Lyft.’

‘The Lyft line at LAX is Coachella?' another user mused. 'IDK what’s happened but I just bought a $6 water and The Killers are on the main stage.’

The fallout came as the result of LAX banning curbside ride-share or taxi services, which came in effect Tuesday, and instead requires passengers to board a shuttle or walk to a separate waiting area, called LAXit, to hail a car.

Officials from LAX announced the changes this month, as part of the airport’s effort to manage congestion in the terminal area of the US’ second-busiest airport.

Without major changes, and as the airport continues a $14 billion modernization effort, officials warned that traffic on an average summer’s day could soon resemble the carnage on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

However, Tuesday’s scenes were anything but tranquil – prompting the airline to apologize for an ‘unacceptable level of service’.

In a separate statement, LAX’s deputy executive director of operations and maintenance told the LA Times, ‘We really, really apologize for people who got caught in that,’ adding that the new system clearly has some teething issues.

Christensen explained the airports woes began Tuesday afternoon with the airport’s footfall reaching ‘levels that started stressing the system’ on the shuttles to the pick-up area and in the LAXit lot itself.

The fallout came as the result of LAX banning curbside ride-share or taxi services, which came in effect Tuesday, and instead requires passengers to board a shuttle or walk to a separate waiting area, called LAXit, to hail a car

Officials from LAX announced the changes this month, as part of the airport’s effort to manage congestion in the terminal area of the US’ second-busiest airport. Without major changes, and as the airport continues a $14 billion modernization effort, officials warned that traffic on an average summer’s day could soon resemble the carnage on the Sunday after Thanksgiving

In additional to the high volume of passengers, confusion on the part of the Uber and Lyft drivers attempting to grapple with the new system also played a hand.

The companies also activated surge prices to address a shortage of drivers, many of which work for both companies. Some even switched between companies to find a passenger match quicker when they were already in the lot, which caused even more congestion.

Overnight, the airport made changes to road signage, traffic routes and increased the presences of traffic officers in the area, with more amendments planned throughout the week.

Christensen assured both Uber and Lyft were also working to make adjustments and send drivers clearer communications to drivers about the new system.

A silver lining on Tuesday came for Taxi drivers, Christensen said, who did better than they would do on a Sunday – which is typically their busiest day of the week.

‘In some respects, they kind of saved the day, because they put a lot of units in and were moving a lot of people,’ he clarified.