FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Thanksgiving Day eve travel was going smoothly on Wednesday afternoon at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and at Miami International Airport.
Aviation officials in Broward and Miami-Dade counties expect the tradition of attending a family Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday to cause traffic increases of 10% at FLL and 4.6% at MIA.
Greg Chin, of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, reported departure flights were mostly on time and only two had been canceled.
“No major effects from the weather up north yet,” Chin said in a statement shortly before 12 p.m.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported the busiest days at airports around the nation will be Wednesday and Sunday. Gate hold and taxi delays averaged 15 minutes at FLL and at MIA on Wednesday afternoon, according to FAA updates.
The Transportation Security Administration expected 2.7 million fliers to be screened on Wednesday and 2.9 million on Sunday.
There were over 49,600 flights scheduled on Wednesday; over 38,350 on Thursday; about 44,770 on Friday; 41,640 on Saturday; and nearly 45,000 on Sunday, according to the FAA.
The AAA estimates that 49 million out of the 55.4 million people who will travel at least 50 miles from home between Wednesday and Sunday will choose to drive.
A minority was traveling by train. Amtrak was expecting hundreds of thousands of riders most of them in the Northeast and the Midwest.
The National Weather Service warned about accumulating snow in northern New England on Wednesday, and the northern Rocky Mountains on Thanksgiving Day.
The weather will not be much of a problem for travelers during the next few days in South Florida. There will not be any rain on Wednesday and the risk increases only to about 20% on Thursday. Shoppers stay dry with a 30% chance of rain on Black Friday, and 20% on Saturday.
For reports on airports around the country, visit the FAA National Airspace System Status dashboard.
For reports on cancelations and delays at FLL, visit this Broward County page. For FAA reports on FLL, visit this page.
For reports on cancelations and delays at MIA, visit this Miami-Dade County page. For FAA reports on MIA, visit this page.
For those dealing with flight cancelations or delays, the FAa recommends a visit to the FAA Airline Customer Service Dashboard.
Feds’ tips for fliers during Thanksgiving
- Cooked leftover turkey is allowed on commercial flights, but both the TSA and the FAA recommend keeping it cool with up to 5 pounds of dry ice. It’s a risk, the airline may decide not to allow it.
- The TSA considers gravy or cranberry sauce a liquid, so it cannot exceed 3.4 ounces in carry-on luggage.
- Download the MyTSA mobile app to view the airport’s security line wait times. Also, consider that a TSA pre-check-in expedites screening at some airports and airlines.
- Check on the U.S. State Department’s travel advisories here.
- Check on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s health-related notices here.
Watch airline worker mishandle wheelchair at MIA
Watch the 12 p.m. forecast
Watch the 9 a.m. report at FLL
Watch the 9 a.m. forecast
Watch the 6 a.m. forecast
This is a developing story.