A record-breaking number of Thanksgiving travelers have already descended upon South Florida’s airports this week, officials say, though some people found themselves pleasantly surprised Wednesday by a fairly un-crowded experience.
All three of the region’s major airports anticipated an increase in travelers since 2022, with tens of thousands of travelers each day from the weekend before Thanksgiving to the weekend following.
At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the busiest days were projected to be the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the Monday after. Over the seven-day period between those dates, officials expect over 760,000 people to fly in and out of the airport, a 10% increase compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, at Miami International Airport, the busiest days were expected to be the Friday and Sunday before Thanksgiving Day and the Sunday after. Airport officials were expecting close to 1.8 million passengers between last Friday to next Tuesday, with an average of 147,000 travelers a day, close to a 5% increase from last year.
Already, Miami International has seen higher-than-anticipated numbers, according to spokesperson Greg Chin. Since last Friday, the airport has averaged 159,477 passengers a day, over 10,000 more people each day than expected.
“MIA is well on its way to another record-breaking Thanksgiving travel week,” Chin said.
Palm Beach International Airport is also expecting an increase, according to spokesperson Joe Harrington, anticipating between 30,000 and 40,000 travelers Wednesday and the first few days of next week.
Despite the warnings, some travelers found that the eve of Thanksgiving wasn’t as bad as they had imagined. Many breezed through security Wednesday afternoon at the Fort Lauderdale airport, where, about 3 p.m., some airlines had no lines for check-in and security moved quickly.
“I was surprised, very shocked, because it’s a holiday,” said Lisa Brown, 19, who was traveling to the Bahamas with her sister, Tamia Louis, 19.
Jose Galante, 22, the manager of the airport’s LEGO store, said that Wednesday was the busiest day of the week, but it “dies down” in the afternoons; he typically sees more people in the mornings and evenings.
Compared to last year, he said, more people are buying LEGOs.
Arlene Satchell, a spokesperson for the airport, said, “it was busier earlier today across the four terminals and is likely to be buzzing again later today.”
The airport is sold out of onsite parking and the overflow parking lot is open, she said.
Meanwhile, Harrington, the Palm Beach International spokesperson, said that he’s noticed an increase in travelers earlier in the season, possibly because more people have the option to work remotely.
“We might see passengers delay their return flights further into next week as well,” he said.