Nearly 2 million travelers expected at Orlando International airport over the holiday

Officials say they expect 1.75 million travelers to pass through Florida’s busiest airport during the Thanksgiving holiday season.

Officials at Orlando International Airport on Monday said they expect traffic to increase 6% over the 12-day holiday season compared to last year’s holiday season. 

“In anticipation of this historically busy holiday travel season, Orlando International has been upgrading the nation’s busiest TSA checkpoint,” says Phil Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “We have remodeled the West Checkpoint, maximized the use of space and added more lanes for TSA agents to process more passengers.”

To try and keep holiday traveling stress to a minimum, there will be entertainment throughout the terminal and the new “MCO Paw Pilots” program, a brand new therapy dog program launched just months ago which will offer some comfort to travelers.

"It is all incorporated with the customer in mind to help reduce holiday travel related stress."

Airport officials say the busiest day will be on the Saturday after Thanksgiving when almost 170,000 passengers will pass through the airport.