Saturday marks the busiest Thanksgiving travel day at MCO

At Orlando International, Saturday morning, passengers headed through security and waited for their flights in the terminal. It hardly looked like was the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving holidays season – but it was.

Airport officials say on Saturday more than 165,000 travelers would be passing through the airport. That’s the most of the 12-day Thanksgiving travel season that runs from November 18 through November 29. Passengers said it's been smooth sailing. "So far, so good, no complaints!" said Dave Germano, visiting from Rochester, "Actually easier to get through than I was expecting."

MCO officials chalk this up to the extra capacity from the new Terminal C and its parking garage, along with what they call "innovative technology and processes to enhance the customer experience." Overall, airport officials say about 160,000 more passengers will be flying during this Thanksgiving travel period. They say that's about a ten percent increase over last year.

In all, airport staff says about 1.75 million travelers will pass through MCO during the holiday travel period, a number matching the record 2019 Thanksgiving travel season. Passengers say the airport is headed in the right direction. "Thanksgiving weekend, we thought it would be worse," said Sheri Bugher, visiting from Cincinnati, "but so far so good!"

Airport officials say it could be tough at times to find parking spots. They recommend passengers check out the MCO mobile app for the most up-to-date parking information.