Heavy holiday travel crowds expected at Orlando International Airport

ORLANDO, Fla. — If you’re traveling for the holiday season, it’ll be busier than usual.

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The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority expects about 3.9 million passengers to pass through Orlando International Airport for the holiday travel period.

The 23-day timeframe between Christmas and New Year’s Day is slated to have a 13.5% increase from the last year.

Read: Lower gas prices projected to fuel rise in holiday travel in Florida

Officials said Dec. 30 will be the season’s busiest day.

A new surface parking lot will open on Friday to accommodate crowds, and three surface lots are open for SunPass and E-Pass customers.

Read: 9 travel tips for families during holiday season

Travelers must use their transponders to enter and leave the lots.

Passengers should use the 3-2-1 guidance, arriving at the ticket counter three hours before their flight, at the security checkpoint two hours before, and at the gate one hour before departure.

People waiting for loved ones at the Orlando International Airport were met with spotty signals or no service at all while waiting inside the Cell Phone Parking Lots.

Read: Orlando International Airport opens new parking lots for E-PASS, SunPass customers

Channel 9′s Daryl Matthews spoke to people in the South Cell Phone Parking lot, who said it was concerning not knowing when or if their loved ones landed and at what time.

Carolyn Fuller waited 30 minutes before she realized her text messages to her family weren’t being delivered.

Instead of guessing when they would arrive, she drove around the parking lot until she got the green light to pick them up.

“I’m a little leary about waiting in the cell phone parking lot. It’s been a while. It’s been almost thirty minutes, and I haven’t heard from her,” said Fuller.

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