MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The Sunday after Thanksgiving is usually the busiest travel day of the year, but the pandemic may have changed that.
Families were seen returning home Monday at Miami International Airport after flying out for the holiday, including Julien Weckering and his parents, who just came back from Washington, D.C.
“I feel very safe and secure. You know, the airlines have taken the precautions,” Weckering said.
Compared to Washington, D.C., Weckering said the Miami airport was more crowded.
Despite the rush, lines at MIA were not too bad on Sunday during what’s normally one of the busiest travel weeks.
A Local 10 News crew found Andres Casellas checking in for his flight back to Puerto Rico.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” he said. “You gotta to get used to a lot of different things...It is what it is. We gotta keep living.”
Officials at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport said this weekend was their busiest this year, with about 80,000 passengers passing through each day.
Still, it’s a 40 percent decrease from the same time last year.
“The crowds weren’t too bad. So, we had a good experience,” one traveler, Julie Matta, said.
“We’re on a full plane with very few empty seats, and we didn’t have any problems at all,” another passenger, Trent Helton, said.
Prior to this weekend, Wednesday was supposed to be the busiest air travel day since the pandemic started with TSA expecting more than 1 million people to fly out, which is still less than half the number who traveled last year.
Experts believe many traveled by car instead, despite the CDC’s warning to stay home.