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Shock among travelers, airlines as holiday surge not as expected over holiday weekend

MCO predicted last week that more than 180K people would pass through airport Saturday

ORLANDO, Fla. – Crowds were not the major story at the Orlando International Airport Saturday, instead it was the lack of long lines and clear parking that made the airport a topic of conversation.

One family that was heading back to Mississippi said, “We were very surprised. We thought it would be so crowded, that’s why we came three hours early, we were already checked in and I have a military husband, so we couldn’t be late.”

The airport predicted last week that more than 180, 000 people would pass through the airport Saturday.

AAA also made the same prediction in a pre-recorded statement.

Mark Jenkins said, “AAA expects this to be the second busiest Thanksgiving on record. I mean, despite the various inflationary pressures, Americans are still making travel a top priority.”

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Those numbers predicted may still ring true for the holiday rush, but while News 6 hasn’t seen that rush of folks at the airport, AAA does say they expect more people to hit the roads.

“Consumer spending remains strong and gas prices are down, which means that Americans are gonna have more money to take a trip,” Jenkins said.

That same family News 6 saw leaving for Mississippi agrees.

One woman and her husband said, “I’ll tell you, I have never seen anything like it outside of like New York.... the parking is crazy.”

AAA says as the holiday season continues, remember your rules of the road and do not drive impaired.

“If for whatever reason you’re tempted to get behind the wheel, don’t do it. You can call AAA,” Jenkins said. “We’ll dispatch a tow truck out to take the driver and the vehicle to a safe location within a 10-mile radius. This is a free service and you don’t have to be AAA member to use it.”

Now airport management has said they will be learning from this experience to see where improvements will come out of what was supposed to be a busy travel time.

News 6 plans on following up with them to see what was learned and what will be done differently when we have this conversation again around Christmas.


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