TAMPA, Fla. — TAMPA, FLA.- Tampa International Airport sees an increase in travelers during the spring break season.
The official six-week busy period began March 1. Airport officials say the airport has seen a slow rise in traffic since January.
Karli Monger and her boyfriend waited for their flight at Tampa International Airport on Monday.
The couple spent the weekend on Anna Maria Island since they had a few days off.
"We were in Florida in November and it's definitely a lot busier now than it was then. We went over the Thanksgiving time which is usually a pretty busy time to travel, but it didn't seem nearly as busy as usual," said Monger.
Tampa International Airport saw nearly 59,000 passengers travel through the airport on Saturday, March 13.
On average, the airport expects to see between 40,000 to 60,000 passengers daily during the spring break period with some peak days seeing as many as 65,000 passengers.
Airport officials said those numbers are well below the 80,000 to 90,000 daily spring break passengers TPA saw pre-pandemic, but a dramatic change from last spring when TPA saw its traffic plummet in the middle of the season to around 2,000 to 3,000 daily passengers at one point in early April.
On Monday, Jennifer Larocque was at the airport picking up some close family friends.
"Excited for the week and we love Florida. We're excited to get out and enjoy it. We're going to Clearwater. We're going to Siesta Key, Anna Maria Island," said Jennifer Larocque.
Passengers said flights have been full and passengers have been wearing masks.
"I'm just hoping as time goes on and more people get vaccinated, we're able to get back to some sense of normalcy and what we knew before March of 2020," said Monger.
Officials at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport said the airport has more scheduled flights than it did last year. In 2020, passenger traffic was down about 39%. The airport is hosting a job fair on Tuesday, March 15.
For more information on the job fair, click here. Job fair information may be found on the website's main page under the section called "News."
Officials at Tampa International Airport said domestic travel is expected to pick up as COVID-19 case numbers decline and vaccinations become more widespread.
