ORLANDO, Fla — Orlando International Airport saw a record number of travelers in March as spring breakers packed the terminals.
The airport hit a new passenger record on Saturday, March 16, with 102,064 departing passengers, they announced in a press release on Friday. That does not include arrivals, they said, which would have doubled the number to 204,128 total passengers — the most the airport has ever seen in a single day.
The previous daily passenger record at MCO was set on December 30, 2023, with 98,521 going through security.
Airport officials projected to see an 11% increase in passengers during spring break 2024 compared to 2023 but surpassed that number on Friday, March 15, one day before the new record was set.
To keep up with the growth, MCO has launched a new parking program allowing passengers to log in to Reserved Parking at MCO or use the MCO mobile app in advance of their arrival to the airport, punch in their vehicle information, make a payment and receive a QR code for easy access to Level 4 of Parking Garage C. Passengers can then access Terminal C or take a quick APM ride to Terminals A and B.
The airport also opened three new surface lots accessible with E-Pass and SunPass Plus.
To help passengers get to their destination smoothly, MCO also recommends the 3-2-1 rule:
- Arrive at your airline ticket counter at least 3 hours in advance
- Head to security processing at least 2 hours prior to departure
- Arrive at your gate at least 1 hour prior to boarding
Here’s a look at MCO’s growth (total traffic) over the past decade, according to airport officials:
- 2013 — 34,768,415
- 2014 — 35,714,092
- 2015 — 38,809,337
- 2016 — 41,923,399
- 2017 — 44,611,265
- 2018 — 47,696,627
- 2019 — 50,617,412
- 2020 — 21,617,803
- 2021 — 40,351,068
- 2022 — 50,176,313
- 2023 — 57,735,726