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Orlando International Airport expects busiest Labor Day weekend in years

Officials say traditional end of summer travel season brought almost 20% more travelers

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority said it’s expected to be the busiest Labor Day weekend for air travelers.

Airport officials said the traditional end of the 2022 summer travel season brought almost 20% more travelers than last year to Orlando International Airport.

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They expect 140,000 passengers to pass through OIA on Friday, 128,000 on Saturday, 129,200 on Sunday and 119,400 on Monday.

Shana Salomon and her family flew from Brooklyn on Friday and said they are heading to Walt Disney World, a trip that’s been on hold for almost two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That was another key thing, the kids are back in school, they actually had class today and I took them out for this whole weekend,” Salomon said.

Curtis Adams flew from North Carolina to Orlando where he’s reuniting with friends from other states.

“Hanging out with my friends spend Labor day weekend with them going to Disney World on Sunday,” he said.

Adams and his friend David Sykes said they plan to catch NASA’s Artemis launch scheduled for Saturday.

“I watched it when it got scrubbed actually I saw the livestream there and I was looking forward to that so I’m going to try and watch this one and see what that’s like cause I love watching space launches and I love all the stuff that goes on with that,” Adams said.

Officials are encouraging passengers to arrive early to the airport and to keep in mind several airlines are still dealing with staff shortages.

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