As travelers book flights to visit family and enjoy Thanksgiving’s not-so-flight-savvy bird, Orlando International Airport (MCO) prepared expanded parking offerings. Friday marks the beginning of one of the airport’s holiday travel periods.
More than 1.9 million passengers are expected to pass through the airport during its 12-day holiday travel period from Friday, Nov. 22 to Tuesday, Dec. 3. This is less than last year’s traffic during the same window, but almost 200,000 more travelers than in 2022.
To aid with the holiday traffic in the skies, officials from the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority revealed their updated ground game: enhanced parking offerings.
MCO added about 2,000 parking spaces compared to last year’s availability. The spots are in an overflow lot and three surface lots newly named Atlantis, Endeavor and Discovery. The three named lots are located in front of the train station.
Those who wish to park in these spots must be an E-Pass or SunPass user with a transponder and enrolled with Easy Pay.
Greater Orlando Aviation Authority CEO Kevin Thibault is touting another parking option new to this holiday season. Visitors to the airport can reserve a parking spot, however the offerings are limited to Parking Garage C Level 4. He said the new options are helpful, but passengers need to do their research in order for them to be effective.
“I think people get familiar with certain locations, right?” he said. “Garage A, Level 3, Row C, Spot 2. And someone else is in that spot.”
Although the airport has prepared these new parking opportunities, passengers may still find it difficult to find a spot. They are encouraged to consider using a rideshare program, taxi service or have someone drop them off.
Travelers can check parking availability at FlyMCO.com.
Airport staff anticipate the busiest day of the season to be Sunday, Dec. 1, while the least busy day will be Thanksgiving Thursday.
More than 181,000 people will depart and arrive from MCO that Sunday, while just more than 100,000 travelers will stuff the airport on Thanksgiving.
“It will be a very busy, busy holiday year,” Thibault said.
The projections are based on previous Thanksgiving cycles. Last year, the same days in the schedule were the most and least busy.
While parking and airport delays may cause some stress this holiday travel season, passengers should be aware of other potential travel stressors.
The airport’s baggage collection has some issues, with some travelers waiting 90 minutes for their luggage to arrive at baggage claim, according to a Friday report from the Orlando Sentinel. And, Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. The airline is the second largest at MCO, with more than 9.75 million consumers in 2023.
Airport officials recommend passengers follow the 3-2-1 rule ahead of their journeys. Arrive to the airport ticket counter 3 hours before a flight, get to the checkpoint 2 hours before a flight and be at the gate 1 hour before departure.
