FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest travel times of the year.
Crews at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport work around the clock to keep things moving during the holiday season.
"There’s a lot of people trying to get to a lot of different places," said Chris Plunkett, general manager, JetBlue ground ops.
More than 800,000 travelers will pass through Fort Lauderdale this holiday season.
Running that kind of operation takes some serious planning.
"Extra security personnel will be here and operations making sure everything runs smoothly," said airport spokesman Greg Meyer.
For JetBlue in terminal 3, preparation means attention to detail.
"We make sure that the airport itself is prepared," Plunkett said. "We make sure that our facilities and operations are prepared for just an increase in traffic."
With an increase in traffic comes an increase in baggage.
For travelers that means packing early and getting to the airport early, but for ground operations teams, that means planning to stay really busy.
“There’s a lot of moving parts to the operation a lot of people don’t see,” said ground operations worker Sunny Moreta. “And the better you move together, the better it flows.”
This week FLL is averaging about 15,000 bags per day, and that’s just in terminal 3.
"You know what to expect, holidays are coming, flights are coming in, let’s do this," Moreta said. "Be prepared, get out there early, make sure everything is prepped and ready to roll."
Over 100 flights will depart from Fort Lauderdale’s terminal 3 on Wednesday, the busiest travel day for the airport.