Travel is continuing to rebound at Orlando International Airport after a pandemic-induced slump.
More than 3.5 million passengers departed Orlando International Airport this August.
That’s a 210 percent increase from the 1.1 million travelers who used the airport in August 2020 during a surge in the pandemic.
This rebound was driven mostly by some 3.3 million Americans from other parts of the country, along with around 193,000 people from the Caribbean, Mexico and South America.
Despite this growth in traffic, MCO still has a ways to go to return to pre-pandemic travel levels.
At its height in 2019, nearly 51 million people flew out of the airport. Over a rolling twelve month period, that number is still only around 32 million.
Since the start of the pandemic, frontline workers including 372 TSA officers at the airport have gotten sick with the virus manning security checkpoints and checking bags.
As federal workers, these officers are now mandated to get one of three available COVID-19 vaccines to protect themselves and the flying public.