ORLANDO, Fla. — We're just days away from the beginning of the holiday travel season and the Orlando International Airport is expected to be at the top of the list for visitors coming to see family or getting in on the theme park action and fun in the sun.

The Orlando International Airport was very busy during the Thanksgiving holiday season and it is expected to be the same for the end-of-year holidays.

During the Thanksgiving holiday travel season, OIA had around 1.5 million people come through, which is only about 2.5% less than the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

They are expecting more than 2.6 million passengers over the the 19-day holiday travel season, which starts Friday, Dec. 17.

Estimated combined arrivals/departures - Orlando International Airport over Christmas/New Year's

• 1. Saturday, Dec. 18: 156,925
• 2. Saturday, Jan. 1: 153,048
• 3. Thursday, Dec. 30: 146,407
• 4. Monday, Dec. 27: 146,402
• 5. Thursday, Dec. 23: 146,298
• 6. Monday, Jan. 3: 145,614
• 7. Sunday, Jan. 2: 145,430
• 8. Sunday, Dec. 26: 145,097
• 9. Tuesday, Dec. 28: 143,898
• 10. Wednesday, Dec. 29: 142,488
• 11. Sunday, Dec. 19: 139,242
• 12. Tuesday, Dec. 21: 138,223
• 13. Wednesday, Dec. 22: 137,871
• 14. Friday, Dec. 17: 137,289
• 15. Monday, Dec. 20: 137,262
• 16. Tuesday, Jan. 4: 133,113
• 17. Friday, Dec. 31: 129,101
• 18. Friday, Dec. 24: 129,057
• 19. Saturday, Dec. 25: 119,505

"Lessons learned from Thanksgiving, instead of trying to funnel everybody at one time, we're going to break that up a little bit, send them to different locations, to ease some of the traffic problems on some of the roadways. We've got ways to manage how and where they're going," said Eric McClung, Assistant Director, Airport Operations at Orlando International Airport MCO.

Parking lots filled up quickly during the Thanksgiving rush and they may be the same for this holiday season. A large overflow parking facility will also be available if they need it, and travelers will be bussed to the terminal.

Nationally, AAA expects more than 6 million Americans to fly between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, 2022, a 184% increase from 2020. 

Experts say airlines need to leave more room for the unexpected after some carriers had mass cancellations and delays earlier this year.

"There used to be a time where there was spare aircraft and spare crew, now the airlines are cost-cutting. Well, okay, if everything goes well, hopefully, all the flights will go out. But when one thing goes wrong, that's why now it just dominoes," said Bill McGee, Consumer Reports’ advocacy aviation adviser.

Some travel tips include taking early morning flights because they are more likely to be on time and you still should get to the airport at least 3 hours before your flight. Also, make sure you have travel alerts set on your phone with your airline to keep track of any changes. 

This Saturday's expected to be the busiest with over 150-thousand people passing through.

AAA says more than 100 million people will travel this season with various modes of transportation, which is 92% of pre-pandemic levels.