South Florida Airports Among Worst in U.S. for Thanksgiving Travel

This just in: Flying out of MIA or FLL at Thanksgiving isn't going to be a Zen-like experience.

November 26, 2024

Image: A long exposure of people walking through the gates of Miami International Airport

Attention Thanksgiving travelers: be prepared to wait in long security lines at Miami International Airport (MIA). Photo by Armando Raul Rodriguez

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Staring down the barrel of Thanksgiving with the fam, you may well be packing your bags and scheduling your Uber right now. And you probably don't need yet another study to inform you that flying out of Miami International Airport (MIA) or Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport (FLL) over Thanksgiving weekend is not going to be a Zen-like experience.

We're going to tell you anyway.

According to a new study based on 2023 Thanksgiving holiday travel, MIA had the longest average peak security wait time, while FLL had the highest percentage of delayed flights. For the study, Jettly, a private jet charter service, crunched U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Bureau of Transportation Services data for the 34 largest airports in the nation to determine its rankings.

You'll never guess who sucks the most.

click to enlarge

graphic of airports with most delayed flights and longest security wait times for Thanksgiving travel.

Here is a list of the top five airports the for longest security wait times and delayed flights during the Thanksgiving travel season.

Graphic by Jettly

With an average security-line wait time of 54.1 minutes during Thanksgiving weekend in 2023, MIA earned the dubious No. 1 spot, edging out Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City at 53.6 and 53.2 minutes, respectively. Travelers flying through FLL had to wait 48.8 minutes through security in 2023 — placing fifth on the list behind Seatle-Tacoma International (SEA), which registered 49.7 minutes.

In terms of flight delays, FLL led all U.S. airports with a whopping 21.2 percent of flights experiencing delays during Thanksgiving travel. Orlando International (MCO) and Tampa International (TPA) were the only other Florida airports among the top ten for most delayed flights, with 19.8 percent and 17 percent.

Look at it this way: You're gonna have to arrive super-early anyway, so if you're flying out of Miami this week, you probably made the right airport choice. If your tickets say FLL — well, godspeed.

Naomi Feinstein is a staff writer of Miami New Times where she primarily focuses on news. Naomi started her career with New Times as a summer intern in 2019, then returned as a fellow in August 2022 before joining the staff full-time in February 2023. She graduated from University of Miami where she contributed to the student-run newspaper, the Miami Hurricane. She holds a master’s degree and graduated with honors from the Columbia School of Journalism. In 2021, Naomi was recognized as the College Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists of Florida, and she placed second for Best General News Story in the 2021 Pinnacle Awards.

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