Miami airport sets record for Thanksgiving holiday travel

Miami International Airport has set a new record for Thanksgiving holiday travel even amid growing concerns about the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant, The Associated Press reported. 

Airport officials said on Monday that about 3.9 million travelers passed through the airport last month, a 6 percent rise from 3.7 million ticketed passengers in November 2019. 

The Thanksgiving holiday travel, the return of Miami Art Week and the end of travel restrictions for non-U.S. citizens from 33 countries helped boost last month’s record numbers. 

Miami International Airport also expects a record-high passengers volume to continue in December as the average number of daily departing flights is up almost up to 12 percent compared to December 2019, The Miami Herald reported. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) recently said his state saw 32.5 million travelers from July to September in 2021, surpassing the number of visitors during that period two years before, according to The AP. 

DeSantis’s anti-lockdown and pro-business stance helped Florida’s tourism scene flourish as tourism dropped in other parts of the U.S., The AP reported. 

“The airport data is certainly a positive sign, but there’s a fair amount of apprehension among travelers who are scientifically literate,” Orlando-based travel industry consultant Gary Deel told The Herald. “Until we reach a level of hard immunity in the U.S., with the newest wave of news coverage of each variant, you’re going to see dips in travel that correlate with the rises of new variants.”

Deel also said some travelers could be potentially discouraged by public health requirements, including the U.S. requirement for international travelers to show negative COVID-19 tests within one day of their scheduled flights, The Herald noted.