‘This weekend will be a peak period’: Orlando International Airport officials discuss holiday travel

ORLANDO, Fla. — Considering the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Orlando International Airport has been busy.

“As far as departing passengers, we are steadily in the top five of the airports for across the country,” said Tom Draper, an airport official.

However, the airport has not been as busy compared to 2019.

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Travel numbers have plummeted this year due to the pandemic.

“We will probably continue to operate at 50% capacity than we did last year,” Draper said.

This is a trend airport officials say will likely continue through the weekend after the new year.

This year, an estimated 775,000 people are expected to walk through the security checkpoint for the winter holiday. This 21-day period started Monday.

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“Our peak periods will still be the same. This weekend will be a peak period,” Draper said.

The airport is doing everything it can to keep travelers safe, including sanitizing, social distancing and requiring masks of all passengers.

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“Our message to them is we are making it safe,” said Phil Brown, chief executive officer. “We continue to look at that. We focus on that.”

“I think the airport is doing everything it can considering the circumstance and I haven’t had a bad experience so far,” said Sherie Pue, a passenger.

Cox Media Group