Record numbers, full garages expected at MIA for Thanksgiving

This year, Miami International Airport expects to have its busiest Thanksgiving travel period ever, with 1.8 million passengers projected from Friday, November 18 through Tuesday, November 29, for a 4% increase over the record-setting period in 2021.

MIA is projected to average 150,000 passengers per day during the 12-day Thanksgiving travel season, compared to 144,000 per day during the same time period in 2021. The busiest travel days are anticipated to be the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day and the Saturday and Sunday after, when more than 160,000 passengers are expected at the airport on each of these days. 

Because of the record-breaking projections, MIA is expecting its parking garages to fill to capacity beginning on November 17. Instead of parking at MIA’s main garages, travelers should consider using the airport’s new Economy Park and Ride lot or being dropped off by friends or family, a ride-share service, taxi, or Miami-Dade Transit’s Orange Line.

Valet parking is also conveniently located at the departures level entrance to MIA’s Dolphin garage, directly across from Door 2 of Concourse D, and in MIA’s Flamingo garage directly across from Door 20 of Concourse J. 

Below are additional travel tips from MIA for Thanksgiving travel:
 
•    Arrive at MIA at least three hours before a domestic flight and three and a half hours before an international flight to allow enough time for parking, airline check-in, and security screening.

•    To expedite the airline check-in process, passengers should check in online before arriving at MIA.

•    Passengers departing from concourses D, H, and J during peak times can pre-schedule their TSA checkpoint screening time with MIA Reserve, a free reservation service.
 
•    To streamline TSA checkpoint screening, wear easily removable shoes, follow the 3-1-1 rule for liquids or gels in your carry-on, avoid accessories that resemble weapons, and pack medications in your carry-on instead of your checked bags for easier access. More TSA tips are available at the TSA website.  

•    The expedited TSA checkpoint screening service CLEAR is now open to members departing from any of MIA’s concourses. CLEAR customers departing from Concourse D can use TSA checkpoint 5 to access Concourse D gates post-security.  
 
•    Find the fastest TSA checkpoint for your flight online with MIA’s Queue Analyzer, for real-time updates on checkpoint wait times. 
 
•    Avoid waiting in line to order food and drinks with MIA2GO, MIA’s mobile ordering service that lets you quickly browse menus, order, and pay before making your contactless pick-up at restaurants throughout the airport.

•    On-site COVID-19 testing (Antigen, PCR, and Rapid PCR) is available at two convenient MIA locations. Costs vary depending on the type of test.

•    MIA’s cell phone waiting lot, which features 60 parking spaces for non-commercial users picking up travelers, is located just off LeJeune Road and N.W. 31st Street, accessible from LeJeune Road heading north or south.

•    If traveling internationally, eligible travelers can use the free, secure Mobile Passport Control app to submit their passport and customs declaration information on their smartphone or tablet and avoid completing a paper form or using an automated passport control kiosk.