Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports seeing holiday travel surge amid pandemic
South Florida’s two main travel gateways are bracing for a surge in passengers this weekend, even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to bring more than 200,000 new individual cases a day.
Both Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport report seeing their highest volumes since March, at some 70,000 travelers a day. The facilities expect a combined total of about 2 million passengers through the first week of January — though this is about half what it saw during last year’s holiday season.
MIA expects more than 1,157,000 travelers between Dec. 21 and Jan. 7 — 54% of where it was last season — with Christmas weekend and Jan. 5, the day before Three Kings Day, as its busiest days.
Most travelers are coming from the U.S., with the biggest flows from top traditional markets like Atlanta, New York and Chicago. The busiest international travel market is Cuba; traffic from the Caribbean generally remains strong, said MIA Director Lester Sola.
FLL is expecting 940,000 passengers between Dec. 21, 2020 and Jan. 3, 2021 — 48% lower than the same period in 2019. Its busiest travel days are expected to be Dec. 26-27 and Jan. 2- 3. Top markets include New York, Newark, and Chicago.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend postponing travel, as taking trips can increase the chances of both getting and spreading COVID-19.
To ensure those who are traveling are as safe as possible, Sola said the airport has doubled its janitorial staff — despite seeing only half its normal traffic footprint — and now provides free masks to those who need them. Mask-wearing is strictly enforced.
MIA has chosen to forgo having a test center on site, a practice followed by other airports, he said.
“We don’t want people coming to the airport to take a test,” he said. “You’re not going to get the result in time. And for those who aren’t feeling well, our message is: Don’t travel.”
Betsy Hotel principal owner Jonathan Plutzik says the winter case surge has not derailed visitors to the Ocean Drive mainstay, which newly reopened Dec. 18.
“We’ve been seeing lots of interest and activity from our traditional sources of business during the winter months, meaning people from the Northeast,” he said, “and most will not drive, some will but most will not...More people now seem comfortable flying down.”
STR data confirm the trend: Hotel occupancy in Miami-Dade has held steady at more than 44% since Nov. 21 and has seen week-on-week increases in four of the past six weeks.
MIA officials say departing passengers should arrive at the airport two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international flight.
