{"id":393119,"date":"2026-09-07T20:50:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T20:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/393119\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T20:50:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T20:50:53","slug":"travelers-pack-orlando-airport-over-labor-day-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/393119\/","title":{"rendered":"Travelers pack Orlando airport over Labor Day weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hordes of travelers passed through Orlando International Airport over the Labor Day holiday despite increases in flight costs \u2014 a number boosted by travelers forced to fly to Orlando due to Sunday\u2019s fatal crash in Miami.<\/p>\n

Overall, about 841,000 passengers were projected to arrive and depart from OIA over the period from Thursday through Tuesday, airport officials said, including 155,000 on Labor Day itself.<\/p>\n

While massive, that is a slight dip from the 891,000 estimated to have came in and out of Orlando over the 2025 holiday, though last year the Labor Day weekend began in August.<\/p>\n

\"TravelersTravelers walk to their check-in counter at the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

The American Automobile Association said Orlando is the second most popular destination for domestic travel in the United States this year, ranking just after Seattle. However, airline tickets for these top destinations have risen by nearly 20% compared to last year.<\/p>\n

But despite higher prices, travelers still inevitably flocked to Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and other attractions.<\/p>\n

Average delays at OIA were listed at only 15 minutes or so on Monday afternoon, according to the FAA, compared to the more than 5-hour delays for flights into\u00a0Miami International Airport, where an Amazon cargo plane overshot the runway Sunday and crashed into several vehicles, killing at least five people.<\/p>\n

As of Monday afternoon, according to the Miami Herald, there had been 293 flights delayed in or out of Miami and 79 flights canceled.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Two Southwest airliners taxi at the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"United<\/p>\n

United Airlines planes at the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Travelers<\/p>\n

Travelers at the ticketing area of the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Travelers<\/p>\n

Travelers arrive for their flights, as a Southwest airliner takes off from the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Arriving<\/p>\n

Arriving passengers exit the secure area of the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Travelers<\/p>\n

Travelers walk past the security check at the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Travelers<\/p>\n

Travelers check in at the Delta Air Lines counter at the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A traveler checks his phone at the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Travelers<\/p>\n

Travelers walk to their check-in counter at the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Travelers<\/p>\n

Travelers check-in at Southwest Airlines in the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\"Travelers<\/p>\n

Travelers at the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 11<\/p>\n

Two Southwest airliners taxi at the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jay Rowe, of Miami, was not one of those travelers who had been rerouted into Orlando, but the crash was on her mind as she waited at OIA on Monday.<\/p>\n

Rowe had initially flown out of Miami to visit Arizona. But instead of flying directly back to Miami, she flew into Orlando to pick up her son who had been vacationing in St. Augustine, so they could drive down together.<\/p>\n

She said she felt lucky.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did watch the crash on the TV thinking, \u2018Oh my God, how tragic,’\u201d she said. \u201cAnd luckily we weren\u2019t back inbound to Miami\u2026we just happened to luck out.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also said rising prices were a big factor in planning her trip, including staying the night at OIA\u2019s Grand Hyatt hotel and what flights to take.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to do a nonstop and I hate nonstops, but the only other option because of limited itineraries was waking up for a 5 a.m. flight. So we opted to do a layover,\u201d Rowe said.<\/p>\n

Jack Dotson, of Atlanta, was at OIA on Monday to meet up with his dad, who was flying in from Nashville, Tenn., so they can visit all four of Walt Disney World\u2019s theme parks on this trip.<\/p>\n

Dotson estimates he and his dad have gone to the resort about 25 times. He said he\u2019s willing to stomach higher prices for the sake of family tradition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s worth it cause I love it so much. So yes, it is annoying unfortunately, but sadly I can\u2019t do much about that,\u201d he said. \u201cMe and my dad have been going together since I was probably 15. It\u2019s like our thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two usually don\u2019t take their Disney trip on busy Labor Day weekend, but it came together at the last minute when both realized they were free. They plan to wait out airline traffic by staying a few days past the holiday period.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope it won\u2019t be busy. We hope all the kids and everyone will be back in school now since the weekend\u2019s over,\u201d Dotson said.<\/p>\n

\"TravelersTravelers at the Orlando International Airport, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026. colleges and universities. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

AAA also noted that while airline costs have gone up, domestic cruise prices have gone down. There was at least\u00a0one traveler at OIA on Monday who seemed to be taking advantage of that opportunity.<\/p>\n

Jesse Nguyen, of Houston, was on his way back home after taking a Royal Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral. Still, he said he will be taking such vacations sparingly because of the rising flight costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit high, but once in a while it\u2019s okay\u2026I\u2019m not going to go too often,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Nguyen was not too worried about congestion at the airport on his fight home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe airport is beautiful,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been to a lot of airports, and this is one of the best ones.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hordes of travelers passed through Orlando International Airport over the Labor Day holiday despite increases in flight costs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[28,114,1335,139,141,140,109,76687,76689,106,107],"class_list":["post-393119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-florida","tag-latest-headlines","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-social","tag-social-entertainment","tag-social-travel","tag-things-to-do","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}