Labor Day Weekend busiest in years at Miami International Airport

MIAMI – Labor Day Weekend is on track to be one of the busiest weekends Miami International Airport has seen in years.  

“Back to Atlanta after a great impressive win,” Krystal Giles, an air passenger said. Giles and her friend Kristian Weatherspoon have been in town for the Orange Blossom Classic. They both happen to be here during one of the busiest Labor Day weekends the airport has seen in years.

“Labor Day feels like we’re coming out of a shell, feels like we have a moment, opportunity now to live again,” Weatherspoon explained.

Weatherspoon had halted summer travel because of what she heard about delays, this trip to Miami has helped to change her outlook.  “I haven’t really wanted to do with it, so I’m really glad that it looks like we’re coming out of that right now.”

For air travel, the pandemic has set off a series of sluggish months, this summer cycle seems to be seeing a growth trend.

Miami International Airport expects to see 800,000 travelers from Sept. 1-6.  That projection would be a 10% increase over the same period pre-pandemic in 2019 and a 25% increase over last year.

“Gas prices, it’s been cheaper to fly than it has been to drive a car, I go back to Michigan a lot,” Giles told CBS4.

AAA projected this 3-day holiday weekend to be the busiest in 3 years.  It noted this holiday weekend coincided with the first time in 10-week gas prices went up, after climbing to an all-time average high of $4.89 a gallon in June.

“Up and down, and it’s always going to be high now I think,” Glenn Kindred said.  

Kindred and other folks at a Pompano Beach rest stop said they haven’t felt much relief from the gas pump.  “We just love going on cruises so it’s safe to do it again so, the whole family got off a Disney cruise now we’re heading back to Orlando.”

Some voiced their concern about a potential recession and what that could mean for workers, but travelers like Chuck Miller from Indianapolis focused on the reason behind Labor Day.  “I think it’s just great that we have a day each year to celebrate those who work hard, and that describes a lot of Americans so it’s great,” he said.

While Labor Day shows domestic travel is expected to taper off, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor’s Bureau projects in the month of January 2023 international travelers will increase to 125%.

Jacqueline Quynh

Jacqueline Quynh is a CBS Miami reporter. My philosophy about news is simple: I aim to tell a story while focusing on the people who graciously let me into their lives.