Critical Update About Orlando International Airport Crowds

March brings a HUGE travel tradition to Orlando, especially to its theme parks.

We’re talking about Spring Break, which brings LOADS of travelers to the city, many of those traveling to Disney World and Universal Studios Florida. How many people are we talking about? Well, we have a general idea of how many will fly into the city and it’s A LOT.

According to the Orlando International Airport, a whopping 7.3 million travelers are expected to travel through the airport from March 4th and April 18th.

Spring Break is here and it's about to be busyyyy! Approximately 7.3 million travelers are expected to pass through the airport over the 46-day Spring Break travel period which starts tomorrow, March 4th, and runs through April 18th. ✈️

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) March 3, 2023

The airport also predicted its five busiest days of the Spring Break travel season:

March 25th — 172,929
March 18th — 172,833
April 1st — 172,449
March 11th — 171,959
April 8th — 169,398

So if you ARE flying into Orlando for Spring Break, you may want to at least avoid those five dates. However, every day during this period will be a busy one at Orlando International Airport. So how should you deal? Well, first, be sure to get to the airport as early as possible for your flight out of Orlando — security lines are bound to be VERY long.

You can avoid long security lines by signing up for TSA PreCheck, which you do have to pay for. However, there is a FREE way to bypass long security lines at Orlando International Airport. You can reserve a spot through the airport’s free Reservation Lane service at a specific time, show up at that time, and get through security quickly.

You also need to be flexible. Depending on things like weather or other issues, flight delays and cancellations are also possible, especially during busy travel periods. Be sure to have a backup plan in place if your flight is delayed or canceled. You’ll want to keep an eye on your airline’s website or mobile app to keep track of your flight status, too.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on the travel situation in Orlando over Spring Break, so keep checking back with AllEars for more. In the meantime, do you have your packing list ready yet? If the answer is “no,” click here.