MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Travelers are being encouraged to arrive early and find an alternative to parking at South Florida airports ahead of what’s expected to be a busy holiday weekend.
Officials at Miami International Airport said its parking garages are essentially full. They’re encouraging passengers to use transit, taxi or rideshare options or get dropped off. The same steps are being encouraged at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, which also faces a parking crunch.
Miami International Airport officials expect around 145,000 passengers per day throughout the holiday weekend. That’s a 50 percent increase from last year when they said about 125,000 people traveled per day.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport officials, however, expect a slight decrease from last year. They’re expecting 520,000 people flying through the airport this holiday weekend. That’s an 8 percent decrease from last year. Officials mainly attributed the expected decrease to fewer available airline seats.
Andy Palacio, who was flying from Miami to Belize, heeded advice to show up early.
“I actually got here like two and a half hours prior to my flight,” he said.
Both airports reported multiple flight cancellations and delays, in line with other American airports facing busy holiday travel.