South Florida’s international airports expecting major increase during the weekend

Miami, Florida – AAA is predicting a 28% increase in air travel this holiday weekend.

Miami International is expecting more than 600,000 travelers in and out of the airport from Friday through Monday.

“Our growth has been unprecedented,” says Jack Varela, a spokesperson for Miami International Airport.

“We got here super early because we saw on the news this morning that it’s going to be super busy,” says Janine Daly, a traveler from London.

According to a spokesperson for the airport, this is the calm before the storm. “We’re expecting 150,000 passengers a day. The parking garages for example are filling up very fast,” says Varela.

Their garages are nearly at max capacity, Varela said. He says some people who couldn’t find parking were forced to go back home, drop off their cars and call rideshare. “The biggest advice I could give passengers is to take rideshare. Uber or Lyft to the airport,” he says.

They’re expecting nearly 700,000 travelers within the week surrounding Memorial Day at Fort Lauderdale International Airport.

Meanwhile, on our roadways, AAA says gas prices are 50% more expensive than they were a year ago. “They’re expected to be the highest for any Memorial Day on record,” says AAA spokesperson Mark Jenkins.

According to Jenkins, the prices aren’t deterring people. “We’re expecting people to begrudgingly pay those higher prices because of this resurgence in travel. I mean we’re talking about two years of built-up demand that is being unleashed this summer,” he explains.