Airport expects to be stuffed for Thanksgiving season
Enough people will funnel in and out of Orlando International Airport during two weeks surrounding Thanksgiving to fill UCF’s football stadium 40 times.
“We are ready,” said Phil Brown, the airport director.
Just to be safe, however, as the airport is bracing for 1.82 million passengers during the 14-day holiday season, authorities are recommending arriving two hours before a flight.
The busiest day of the Thanksgiving rush is expected to be the Saturday after Thanksgiving, with 152,032 travelers funneling through the terminal.
The following Sunday, the second busiest day, will see 145,296 travelers. The third busiest will be this Saturday, with 145,209.
The airport uses airline reports for the number of flights and seats sold.
Airport authorities also are citing AAA’s prediction – based on its online and travel agency bookings – that Orlando will be the nation’s most popular holiday destination.
In many respects, the airport is better prepared than a year ago, including with ticketing areas that have been expanded and modernized
The airport has worked with TSA to lessen long waits at security checkpoints.
But waits can still be significant.
Today is expected to be the fifth busiest of the holiday season. By 3 p.m., according to the airport’s website, travelers were taking as long as 34 to 38 minutes to clear security at the airport’s west end, which has gates 1 through 59.
Airport officials are touting Garage C, which opened a year ago as an alternative to garages A and B, which regularly reach capacity.
However, even Garage C has been filled to capacity on occasion in the past year.
The airport has an array of surface lots served by shuttle buses, including the gold lot, which is held in reserve and opened when the standard parking areas fill up. kspear@orlandosentinel.com