Miami Airport braces for record-breaking Thanksgiving travel
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Miami International Airport is bracing for its busiest Thanksgiving travel season ever — and we've got some tips to make your travel experience as smooth as possible.
What's happening: More than 1.8 million passengers are expected to fly through MIA in the 12-day peak travel period from tomorrow through Nov. 29, according to MIA spokesperson Greg Chin.
- That's a 4% increase from 2021, which would set a record at Miami's main airport.
- The busiest days will probably be this Sunday and over the weekend after Thanksgiving Day, when more than 160,000 passengers are expected at the airport daily.
In Broward: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport officials are expecting a 14% increase in projected Thanksgiving season passenger volume, compared with last year.
- But passenger totals there are not expected to eclipse pre-pandemic levels from 2019.
Be smart: MIA's main garages are expected to reach capacity starting today, Chin said. But there are other options, like the newly opened Economy Park and Ride lot, which offers discounted parking rates and a free shuttle service to MIA terminals.
- The 460-space lot is at Northwest 45th Avenue between Northwest 13th and 15th streets. (It's accessible from LeJeune Road or Perimeter Road.)
- Parking is $12 a day, less than half the $25 maximum daily rate at MIA's Dolphin and Flamingo garages. The free shuttle comes every 15 minutes.
More tips from MIA: The airport recommends arriving at least three hours before a domestic flight and three-and-a-half hours before an international flight to allow time for parking, check-in and security screening.
- Remember to check in online before you get to MIA to speed up the process.
- Clear, the subscription-based TSA screening service, is now open to members departing from any of MIA's concourses. (CLEAR customers departing from Concourse D can use TSA Checkpoint 5 to access Concourse D gates post-security.)
- You can order food and drinks to-go at MIA's restaurants using MIA2GO, a mobile-ordering service.
For FLL: Get there early to catch your flight (two hours for domestic, 3 for international) and to find a parking spot at the airport's garages.
- Oh, and don't pack your gun in a raw chicken.