ORLANDO, Fla. – Passengers at Orlando International Airport are seeing crowds and long lines as the post-Christmas travel rush is getting underway.
Security checkpoint wait times reached more than an hour early Wednesday and remained steadily above 45 minutes for most of the morning.
Airport officials said 174,787 passengers were expected on Wednesday, which is a 10.2% increase from the same date in 2022.
Dan Szczecinski was catching a flight home to Virginia with his wife Cassandra and their infant son.
“A little chaos when you walk in, but really it’s not too bad. I feel people were communicating,” Szczecinski said. “This is my first time doing it, so we’ll see if we do it next year.”
According to airport officials, the busiest day ahead for the holiday travel season is Dec. 30 when 187,069 passengers are expected.
Meanwhile, winter weather in the central U.S. has been causing trouble for thousands of flights across the country.
According to flightaware.com, 480 flights were delayed through Orlando on Tuesday and eight more were cancelled.
Orlando International Airport recommends passengers arrive at least three hours before their scheduled flight. Also, to help keep wait times as low as possible, travelers may not be able to pass through security checkpoints more than two hours before their departure time.
To view current TSA wait times, click here.
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