JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The holiday travel rush is here, with thousands of people expected to fly out of Jacksonville International Airport on Wednesday.
By 10 a.m. one of the airport parking lots was already full, and by the afternoon, several others were at around 90% capacity.
But the JIA Airport Authority says Sunday and Monday will be just as busy.
For that reason, officials are urging travelers to plan ahead to ensure a smooth trip.
Here are three things to keep in mind before you leave the house:
- Arrive at least 2 hours early
- Consider ride-share or drop-off to avoid parking headaches
- Monitor your airline app in case of last-minute changes
Real-time parking updates can be found on http://flyjax.com.
News4JAX was at the airport speaking to flyers. One woman, Kara Lebrera, told us her flight was delayed not once, but twice.
“On our Uber ride here, we got a notification that our flight was delayed, so we got to the airport three hours early and got our stuff checked in, went and sat by the gate, hung out, and then just recently got another notification that it’s delayed another two hours,” said Lebrera.
When it comes to the roads, AAA said over 4.6 million Floridians will be driving to their Thanksgiving destination this year.
News4JAX was also at the Florida Welcome Center off I-95. We spoke to drivers who faced congestion on the road.
“There was a little bit of a slowdown on 95,” said Tim Critchlow, driving from North Carolina to Melbourne. “There was a major seven-car pileup northbound that everybody stopped and that delayed us about 45-50 minutes.”
AAA recommends drivers start their trip in the early mornings and avoid afternoons.
They say the worst days to drive are Wednesday and Sunday.
The FAA and AAA say this is a record-breaking Thanksgiving for driving and flying.