With half of adults in the United States fully vaccinated against COVID-19, we kick off what is expected to be the busiest travel weekend since “the before times.”
As a reminder, a federal mandate has masks still required at the airport and on airplanes regardless of your vaccination status.
But the flurry of activity tells the story. This Memorial Day holiday weekend, Miami International Airport is expected to hit pre-pandemic passenger numbers.
“We are really just a few percentage points off from where we were in 2019,” said Greg Chin of MIA. “115,000-120,000 passengers, which was a typical day before the pandemic.”
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport predicts over 630,000 travelers between Wednesday and Tuesday, which “mirrors pre-pandemic levels for past Memorial holiday weekends.” FLL’s busiest travel days are expected to be Friday and Monday, with more than 97,000 travelers each day, airport officials said.
The American Automobile Association says that from Thursday through Monday, more than 37 million people will travel 50 miles or more, a 60% increase over last year.
