ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — As vaccination rates continue to climb, so is confidence in domestic travel.

What You Need To Know

  • TSA statistics show that the Orlando International Airport air traffic for departing flights is around 70-80% of what it was before the pandemic

  • The CEO of the Orlando International Airport says he noticed a big change within the last 30 days, with departing passenger counts hitting close to 60,000 per day

  • This past weekend, MCO experienced some of the highest non-holiday travel numbers since the start of the pandemic, with about 66,000 departing passengers on Sunday, alone

  • Masks are still required at MCO, but social distancing has been reduced to 3 feet

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings says officials are noticing consumer confidence grow as the vaccine rollout continues and people feel more comfortable getting back into the skies for vacation or visiting family.

AAA is projecting 2.5 million people nationwide are expected to fly over the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend holiday, which is six times higher than 2020.

The increase in traffic is what Phil Brown, CEO of the Orlando International airport, says is an increase in travel confidence.

“Nationally, people are ready to fly," said Brown. “I’m starting to think that there are some actual legs in this recovery, and a lot of it is because we’ve been able to roll out the vaccines.”

TSA data shows departing flights are around 70 to 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels here, with 66,000 passengers screened this past Sunday.

And travelers are noticing the difference.

Californians Katie Slockbower and Spencer Emmons call Central Florida their home away from home — and travel is their passion.

The fervent, frequent flyers say they’ve seen what they’d call a travel fever.

“It’s definitely progressed, though, you can see a major difference from December to now," said Slockbower. "It was very quiet on the planes in December." 

“A little eerie in the airports," added Emmons.

“A little eerie, yeah, at LAX, I hate to say it, but it looked like a scene out of The Walking Dead, and I’m being honest with you," said Slockbower. "But now it’s alive, and happy, and people are happy, it’s great.”